Philip Freriks quits De Slimste Mens and is succeeded by Herman van der Zandt. Strange, because Maarten van Rossem was still furious about this rumor in the summer.
It’s hard to follow: Maarten van Rossem reacted as if stung by a wasp when there was speculation about The Smartest Person in the summer, but now the rumors appear to be true. Herman van der Zandt has indeed switched to KRO-NCRV to present the country’s most watched TV quiz. He is the successor to Philip Freriks.
Philip leaves
Philip will stop at the end of next year and will therefore make three more seasons. His last episode on TV will be in January 2025. “Look, Maarten keeps shouting: ‘We will continue until we are a hundred’. That’s all well and good, of course, but not very realistic,” he says in conversation with it A.D. “I’ll be eighty next year.”
Making three episodes in one day will be tough, Philip admits. He announced his departure last spring. “That’s right, before the summer series. It is nice to give people plenty of time to find a successor.”
Hysterical Maarten
Philip tipped Herman off himself, he says. “I have followed him over the years, know him from the NOS Journaal and from Met het Mes op Tafel. He does that very well. A nice man. He is perfect for The Slimste Mens.”
But if Philip already knew in the spring that he was going to quit and he himself tipped off his successor, why did Maarten act so limitlessly hysterical at the end of July when Herman came into the picture as a possible presenter of De Slimste Mens? “Thanks for the suggestion, but I honestly think it’s quite rude,” he fumed.
“Has he been informed?”
Did Philip inform Maarten? Yes, he swears. What was his reaction? “Fine actually. He took it for granted. He respects my decision. Eighty years and the 25th edition, that could fit in.”
But haven’t Philip and Maarten always said that they will either continue together or stop together? Will Maarten also stop? “No, he didn’t say that and he doesn’t have to. Maarten wants to continue until he is one hundred.”
‘Mainly do it’
It’s starting to look more and more like Maarten is more devoted to attention and TV fame than he wants to admit. “If he wants to continue, who am I to say: that is not allowed,” said Philip. “He is completely free in that. And if he wants to continue and he gets that opportunity, then he should do so.”
Philip says that despite his departure from De Slimste Mens, he is still open to other TV jobs.