Angela de Jong has no regrets that she said no to John de Mol’s request to come and work for SBS 6 in 2018. “Not a moment. No, really not for a moment.”
It is 2018 when John de Mol decides that the early evening dominance of RTL Boulevard should be over. He comes up with a program to demolish the competitor: 6 Inside. Albert Verlinde is already on board, but he is also after Angela de Jong. She talks to the media tycoon, but eventually says no. The consolation prize? Robert Goossens.
No regrets for a moment
Angela still remembers the conversation with John very well. “It was a lot of fun there, an hour and a half. John can be very charming. If he wants to wrap you up, he’ll wrap you in butter and sugar. Well, I know the stories. I know there are several John de Mollen, but this was the charming John,” she says in the AD Media podcast.
Colleague Dennis Jansen: “Have you ever regretted the decision not to work on that?”
Angela: “Not a minute. No, really not for a moment.”
Walking program
Dennis: “Have you ever imagined what your life would look like then?”
Angela: “Then I would probably do that walking program. haha. To fulfill my contract. And then you can’t say no anymore! Or that housing program they had in the late afternoon. Marlayne Shaupala presented that too and I believe Tooske too. It was such a receptacle. I thought: then I have to present that.”
Starting bid
Dennis: “But you could draw whatever you wanted, couldn’t you?”
Angela: “Well, not what I wanted, but the opening bid was nice, but I… No. I didn’t feel like doing those negotiations at all… Because I already knew: I’m really not going to do this.”