Wendy van Dijk is under a magnifying glass now that her career has been more or less declared dead by Tina Nijkamp. Will her contract be extended in six months or will she be out soon?
Things are really going badly for Wendy van Dijk’s TV career. According to TV professor Tina Nijkamp, ’Wendy’s role seems a bit played out at Talpa’ now that her husband Erland Galjaard has left as Talpa boss. “Add to this the fact that the programs that Wendy presented at SBS 6 have almost all flopped, except Wie van de Drie.”
‘That’s sad’
Shownieuws star Evert Santegoeds thinks Tina’s conclusion that Wendy is just a bit out is a bit harsh, he says in the podcast Strictly Private. “Yes, and that’s sad, because I have to say that Tina is the one who put her on the shield by having her Heart in Action presented.”
What should we do with Wendy? “What I really liked was that candid camera program she did. She did a fantastic prank with Tino Martin and René Froger together in a car. That went on and on and on. That was so incredibly well produced and suddenly it stopped. Yes, it is a very laborious program.”
Ushi and Dushi
Evert is referring here to Wendy’s show Who The Last Laughs. “It’s difficult to make a show like that. Moreover, if people know that a candidacy program is going on, they are always more alert. It’s a shame that that program has stopped, because that was Wendy at her best, I thought.”
And what about Ushi & Van Dijk? “She didn’t make it easy for herself with all those characters like Ushi and Dushi. I fear that this would no longer be possible in this day and age and that was an incredibly clever action. Dressing up like a Japanese reporter with all the stereotypes should no longer be allowed at all.”
High favor factor
Colleague Jordi Versteegden thinks that is a shame. “Luckily we still have the images from the past. I can actually hear you saying: if Wendy van Dijk gets a good format, she can still be disruptive. Is it more about the format than it is about her?”
“Yes, I think so,” Evert continues. “Look, Wendy had a very high favorability factor during the period when she was going to marry Xander and she was able to rely on that for a long time, but of course she could also do something. To now say that she has been written off… No, I think a program can definitely be devised.”
Great family shows
It’s more that big family shows are a bit outdated, according to Evert. “They also take far too long. I believe there are even plans to bring back One of the Eight with Mies Bouwman. Oh well, don’t do it, I’d say. Jos Brink also presented that and I heard him complain about how slow that format is nowadays.”
Perhaps Wendy should fall back on Hart in Aktie, Evert decides. That format is so prehistoric that the title still has ‘action’ in it instead of action. “Do it in a different way and preferably look for something close to yourself again, towards the people. What she did in Hart in Aktie or something.”