Merel Ek disappoints with the outfits she wears in Today Inside. People complain that her outfits could use a little more sparkle. “Look at Hélène!” says media critic Victor Vlam.
In just a year she has become one of the big stars of Today Inside: the 28-year-old political reporter Merel Ek. And that is quite striking given her background, says VI expert Victor Vlam. “Merel is of course originally a BNNVARA girl. She came from BNNVARA to Radio 1. She worked there for De Nieuws BV.”
Sour Blackbird
Merel was also very stiff at first, Victor remembers. “In the beginning – because she only started working at SBS when Today Inside started in January 2022 – she received a lot of criticism from viewers, because they thought that she did not handle what was happening at the table well at all. When jokes were made, she often looked very sour.”
He continues in the podcast The Communicados: “She found it very problematic in some ways. She also corrected the people at the table a little too enthusiastically, especially Johan Derksen. Viewers really didn’t like that at all. Well, that has completely changed. That is no longer the case at all. She can now really deal with that in a very nice way.”
Loose Blackbird
Now Merel is really very different and she is even a threat to Sam Hagens, according to Victor. “I have the feeling that she has just loosened up a bit. That she was of course new to television in the beginning and was perhaps a bit stiff and thought: oh, I have to show my disapproval here if a bad joke is made.”
He continues: “She can now deal with this in a much looser, more spontaneous way. I actually think we’re seeing more of the real Merel and that’s really nice.”
Gloomy clothes
Victor thinks she should adjust her clothing style. “I notice that she wears clothes that always have quite somber colors. So it’s either very dark or it’s very light and not pronounced. So for example she wears a lot of dark red and dark brown and dark green. Or very light blue, which is close to gray.”
So boring, he says. “It’s not all very pronounced or fierce. I would advise Merel to wear some brighter colors. A big television star simply shows with clothes: here I am.”
Provincial girl
What does Merel radiate now according to Victor? “Merel’s choice of clothing and especially the choice of color often conveys: I am a modest girl from the province, please don’t draw too much attention to me. And of course that is not possible for a television star. Hélène Hendriks has incredibly bright colors that she always wears. That suits her.”
He concludes: “Merel could take advice from that. Merel and Hélène are good friends with each other. So in that respect perhaps Merel could learn something from that.”