Albert Verlinde has taken a big step back: he no longer has a private driver, the television star reveals. “Now I have a different life and I can drive again.”
It took years of hard work for Albert Verlinde. Not only was he a musical giant, but as the founder of RTL Boulevard he was also the face of the eve of RTL 4. For years he was a kind of super person with an overcrowded agenda and therefore he no longer had time to sit behind the wheel of his car. .
‘It was fantastic’
Albert therefore had a private driver for years, he explains In The Walkways. “That was a long time ago, but back then I had two jobs at the same time and that was really unbearable, but now I have a different life and I enjoy driving again. It was fantastic.”
He continues: “I never dared to say out loud that I did that, because people would think: well, well, well, he with a driver or something. But it was also a kind of survival for me.”
Sleeping on the backseat
It was really exhausting, Albert said. “I did a theater company all day, then RTL Boulevard and then I had to go to performances. If you’re not careful, you’ll fall asleep at the wheel. I often just slept in the back to get to the next thing.”
It involved working weeks of 80 or 90 hours, he says. “Yes, if it wasn’t more. And now? Now really very different. I think a normal working week actually.”
Tierelier
Albert is still doing well. “Stars on Stage is going like a charm. I am very proud. It is from MediaLane by Iris van den Ende. They came up with it, a new formula. And that almost never works, a new formula in TV land. And 1.3 million people are watching this with delayed viewing, so that is really fantastic.”
Why is that program such a success? “I think it’s well taken care of, there are dancers and good celebrities in it, and it just looks nice on a Friday night. I really like it. Yes, serious. I also get messages from the entire management of RTL, saying: ‘Nice’ and: ‘Congratulations.’”