Merel Westrik is not angry that Linda de Mol has ruined her TV career. “Ladies Night was an adventure, which I have not regretted for a moment,” said the presenter.
Linda de Mol stole Merel Westrik from RTL News in the summer of 2019 to become the figurehead of Net5. That channel would be a kind of TV version of its magazine LINDA. with the Ladies Night program as the central focus. This women’s talk show with Merel really failed miserably.
Occupational Therapy
Linda soon left the sinking Net5 ship and Merel’s TV career has been ruined for a few years now. She recently made two documentaries for the channel, one about Britney Spears and one about alcoholism. No dog looked at it, but apparently this is some kind of occupational therapy for Merel.
Doesn’t she feel completely screwed by Linda? No, says Merel in the VARA guide. “I left RTL Nieuws for an adventure. Until then I had only made news and was curious about what else I could do. I got that chance at Net5. Linda de Mol and Jildou van der Bijl all had great plans.”
Corona is to blame
Great plans that no one looked at. Fortunately, they can blame corona. “Corona broke out in April 2020 and after that all major plans were put on hold. The Net5 I left for has not become the Net5 of the original idea. It’s more like the channel it used to be, with the occasional outing – like the two programs of mine.”
But is she sorry? “Ladies Night was an adventure that I have never regretted. It had the potential to be great. But it is extremely difficult to find the right balance for a talk show – every new talk show, by the way. In tone, in people and in subjects. And then also on a commercial channel.”
Just processed
Then Merel says to the interviewer of the VARA guide: “Why are you bringing all this up, dude? I had only just processed it.”
Was her confidence gone? “No, I think we’ve made enough episodes that really mattered, and really helped women. But I do think it’s a shame that the program is seen as a failure. At least I don’t see it that way.”