Victor Vlam, one of Hélène Hendriks’ regular guests, believes that Jack van Gelder should at some point be given the opportunity to say goodbye to the viewers of SBS 6.
Jack van Gelder was a fixture on Hélène Hendriks’ talk show for years, but he was kicked out because the presenter wanted to collaborate more with Rutger Castricum. His exit was not exactly elegant, but the way he is acting now – he is angry with Hélène – does not really deserve the beauty prize.
What does Victor think?
What does Hélène’s regular guest Victor Vlam think? “I am relatively mild about it. Look, he is obviously disappointed about the fact that he no longer has that podium and I actually understand that, because it is a very nice podium to have,” he says in the podcast Victor Indicates TV.
“He is 75 years old, he is also very honest about it: there is a very good chance that he will not be offered such a big stage in the future. That is really something you have to take into account, so he just has to assume that this may be his television farewell. That is disappointing, that is heavy, that is annoying.”
Disappointment
Jack is really hitting his stride now. How does Victor view that? “I also think it suits Jack to be open and honest about his disappointment, because that sincerity in his emotion is something that makes him a beloved person in the somewhat fake world of television. I think that is part of his popularity.”
“I understand somewhere that he does that, but I don’t think he did it in a useful way, because it is not very smart to say that Hélène did not call him, if later it turns out that that was the case, but he simply did not answer. Difficult, difficult, difficult. Then you also make it a bit painful for yourself.”
‘Very unfortunate’
According to Victor, it is a shame that Jack is no longer part of it. “I also think it is a great shame that he is no longer part of the program. It would have been really nice, and I think a lot of viewers would agree with me, if he had had a nice farewell in that program.”
Such a farewell must happen, he believes. “Then I think: for someone who has had a career of fifty years, even if it did not end ideally… He is a living legend. You can say that. He has spent a lot of hours in front of the camera. I think such a person deserves a nice farewell on television.”
Parting
How does Victor envision that farewell? “With the highlights, perhaps with his favorite guests at the table or with him once again putting his hobbyhorses on the table. I think he deserved that and I think many viewers would have appreciated that too.”
He concludes: “Maybe that will be possible again in the future; I don’t know how relationships will develop there, but I hope that is something that Talpa is open to. I think viewers will really like that and he absolutely deserves it.”
