Irene van der Laar is quite a surprise as a candidate in De Slimste Mens. She has now completed two episodes and won both of them. “I watched fifty episodes.”
We don’t exactly know her from the most in-depth programs: Irene van der Laar. The 55-year-old former model is known from De Nachtrijder and we have seen in recent years in titles such as De Alleskunner VIPS, Ranking the Stars and Expedition Robinson. So she has really become one of those B-stars who skips all the celebrity programs.
Bucket list
And now Irene is also in De Slimste Mens, for two episodes now. “I find it really exciting. It feels like I’m in school and have to take an exam again, but that’s fun, isn’t it, because it also keeps you sharp. Adrenaline,” she says in the broadcast on NPO 1.
Participating in this program had been on her bucket list for years, she reveals. “Certainly. With De Slimste Mens I have a bit of the feeling: first see Naples and then die. That’s a bit of it, so it’s nice that I can experience that for once.”
Fifty shows
Irene has been the smartest of the day twice so far. How does she manage that? “I have rewatched about fifty episodes of De Slimste Mens in recent weeks, if not more. I just sat in bed with my laptop. I still liked it, yes. I started dreaming about it too.”
What else has she done for practice? “I have also played about 400 games on the app, but hey, that’s no guarantee for the result now, is it?”
Lower numbers
Incidentally, De Slimste Mens is currently doing slightly less well in terms of viewing figures than before. “I think it is programmed too closely to the previous season,” ratings expert Tina Nijkamp analyzes her page. “Just recently there was the summer finale (September 11).”
She continues: “And the fact that we now know that Philip and Maarten are going to stop? As if it feels a bit over… The ending feels like it has already happened. I myself have that feeling a bit unfortunately. I think that announcement could have been made better before the start of the last season.”
Gotu Jim
Irene will once again compete with her fellow candidates in De Slimste Mens on Monday. Then she will compete against former Talpa bobo Marco Louwerens and newcomer Gotu Jim.
Who is that? A singer. “Gotu Jim’s raps are characterized by the frequent use of autotune and are popular with members of student associations,” says De Slimste Mens.