Merel Ek, who breathes down Hélène Hendriks’ neck when it comes to who is the most popular VI woman, baffles her biggest fan. “This really seems like a very bad plan for her career.”
Victor Vlam, the male Angela de Jong, likes to watch Merel Ek. “I’m a very big fan,” he admits. “I take care of her career. I’m just trying to give her some kind of positive attention to help her further in her career. I have no idea if she appreciates it, but indeed, she is my project of 2024.”
‘Do not do it!’
However, Merel’s revelation that she would like to create a talk show leaves Victor bewildered. “My first advice to Merel would be: whatever you do, no talk show! Really, it is extremely unwise to immediately start presenting a talk show and that has to do with the fact that the risk of failure is really great.”
He continues in the podcast The Communicados: “If she suddenly starts presenting a prominent talk show, everyone will pay attention to every minute detail and, especially at the start of a career, that is simply unwise, because so far she has only done political reporting. That is not the same sport.”
Prime-time internship
A talk show is really something completely different, according to Victor. “You need different skills for that, so you have to get used to it. You still have to learn all kinds of things. It’s not good to do some kind of internship on the highest stage you can get. That’s not the best place to start learning things.”
What should Merel do then? “Look, if I were Frans Klein, I would put Merel in a program that expresses her qualities. One of the things she does very well is that she is also really good at holding politicians to account. She is sometimes angry with people. There was also another video recently that Yesilgöz did not speak to her.”
Furious at Dilan
Merel was really furious with Dilan Yesilgöz. “It did really well. That’s what we want to see as viewers. A journalist who really takes aim at those in power. My proposal would be to develop a Breekijzer-like program for Merel. That program with Pieter Storms was really very successful in the 1990s.”
Victor continues: “A lot of high viewing figures for that too. Let Merel go to ordinary people who have a problem that politics can solve, but politics does not solve. They don’t do it, but they can.”
Kind Tim
So a kind of Tim Hofman? “Yes, a bit, but with politicians. Tim Hofman, in his BOOS, always goes to all kinds of people who have a problem with a company or whatever. She can then talk to people with a problem and then she goes to the politicians. She runs after them to ensure that the problem is solved.”
This can be done at a national, but also local level, according to Victor. “It might not get a million viewers, but five or six hundred thousand viewers would be pretty good. Then you have Peter Gillis-like figures, so that is quite okay for SBS 6. Plus it is very good image building for Merel, which means she can do a talk show in the long term.”
The working title that Victor suggests? Merel Solves It. “Good title, right?”