Frans Timmermans may be a chauvinistic man, but Linda de Mol’s team does not have to call him to participate in Ik Hou Van Holland. “I don’t like games.”
The leader of the left-wing bloc, Frans Timmermans, has just moved back to the Netherlands. He now lives in Maastricht again and is therefore unable to watch TV for a short time. And he is very disappointed about that. “When the TV is connected again, I like to watch BinnensteBuiten: so deliciously Dutch and I love looking inside someone’s house,” he says in VARAgids.
Avid TV viewer
That is something typically Dutch, thinks Frans. “In BinnensteBuiten, people consciously choose to allow the camera with the idea of ’come and see how much fun it is with me. And I also like paying attention to cooking and nature. That’s why I never skip Early Birds – on TV and radio.”
What else does Frans watch? “I sleep very little and watch a lot of current affairs programmes. Not football: you have to see that live. And I follow everything from Roda JC closely.”
Not to Linda
And what about Max Verstappen? “I think Verstappen is a phenomenon, but the sport itself interests me less. I am chauvinistic and always want the Dutch team to win. I think that is because someone who partly grew up abroad and often lives and works abroad is more aware of their Dutch citizenship.”
Then he decides to be a candidate in the Linda de Mol show Ik Hou Van Holland? No. “Game programs also approach me, but I don’t like that so I don’t do that. Scrabble and Monopoly are played regularly here, but without me.”
Useless knowledge
Games are terrible, says Frans. “I can enjoy the fun it brings from the couch, but I just don’t like it. The only exception is Trivial Pursuit. I have a head full of useless knowledge.”
What can they call him for? “I am regularly asked for programs – including French, German and Italian, because I speak the language. For example, Italian television knows that I am a big fan of AS Roma and they call every now and then to say something about the match. “