It was not the first time that Johan Derksen threatened to throw in the towel, but this time it was serious, Paul Römer, radio and television director of Talpa Network, said before: “I don’t think he has left is,” he said after he spoke to Derksen. “He has said it before and then returned, but I think he means it now.”
Colleague Van der Gijp also sounded certain of his case. “We are convinced that we will not return to TV in this form,” he told this newspaper after the ‘last’ broadcast.
Despite those firm words, it all turned out not to be serious. The men sat down with Talpa and Derksen announced the return of the program before Talpa was ready. Confusion everywhere.
Cancel culture
Derksen therefore does not give in to the cancel culture, which he previously said he was a victim of. The question is whether he is actually a victim of cancel culture. Not all critics seemed eager to get the program off the air. But apologies were demanded from society and also from Talpa. “There is a clear line between expressing an opinion and confessing on TV to a crime you once committed,” Römer said.
“Sorry”, however, it turns out not to be easy for Derksen, although he put on the penitent in his way somewhere in the last broadcast. “It’s a slip of mine. That’s deadly on TV. Today I got the bill, I was fired everywhere as some kind of criminal.”
He would rather resign than make explicit apologies. In the meantime, Talpa appears to be satisfied with half-hearted apologies to allow the viewing figure to return. Or maybe that Derksen will put his hand into his own bosom tonight, and Talpa and the critics will get the excuses they hope for.