Barely left TF1, and already on the air in France 2. Tuesday August 25, two weeks to the day after the announcement of his surprise change of channel, Laurence Boccolini begins filming "Password", the game which arrives this Monday, at 10:30 am, on the public channel. The former host of "Money Drop" has come back to power, delighted to find the warmth of the projectors of the Lendit studios, at the Plaine Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), at the same place where, under her costume unicorn, she won the first season of "Mask Singer" last year. Without regrets, and without animosity, Laurence Boccolini confides.
After all these years at TF1, it's surprising to see you on France 2!
LAURENCE BOCCOLINI. I am a surprising girl! I am super happy with this very busy start.
How did this transfer go?
Very naturally. I have known Takis Candilis (Editor's note: France Télévisions' program director) for a long time, since he was my boss when I arrived at TF1, 20 years ago. Last year I shot for France 3 in the “Mongeville” series. I met teams who wanted to do a lot of different things with me. They spoke to me about programs, games, fictions… Suddenly, I was recognized again as a host. And, like me, I want to do my job, I felt alive!
You weren't doing your job at TF1?
No, I had the feeling of not working at all and going in circles. I was described as a flagship host of the channel, and that bothered me a lot. How can you be a flagship host with only three shows a year? My coming season was summed up in the “Grand Concours des animateurs”. I love this program, but I can only do my job on occasion. I had the feeling of not being a priority, of having become a trinket. In recent years, plans for new shows were never offered to me. I would have loved to do “Good Singers” with Jarry, for example, or cover “Who wants to earn millions? »After Jean-Pierre Foucault.
So you didn't hesitate to slam the door?
No, because I did not feel that something was holding me back at TF1. There was a total lack of communication. I was waiting for my phone to ring. At one time, we were called regularly, even when we had nothing for you, to reassure you. A kind of cocooning which is good, because the animators are fragile. "You have to know how to leave the table when love is served" , sang Charles Aznavour. But I have no bitterness, no hatred. And I loved presenting "the weak link" or "Money Drop", which I still hear about today.
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The grueling filming of "I am a celebrity get me out of here", where your relations were complicated with Christophe Dechavanne, was it a trigger?
No ! I followed very quickly with “Mask Singer”. I moved on very quickly.
France Télévisions convinced you with a daily game, synonymous with high exposure?
I love games, it's no secret. And especially those where we play with words. I had loved being the watchword at “Pyramide”. I really liked "Password" when Patrick Sabatier introduced it. But I didn't come because I was offered a daily game. It was not the detonator at all.
France Télévisions put money on the table?
Salaries are much, much higher on TF1. It is incomparable. But I am not an employee. No more at France Télévisions than at TF1, where I did not have an exclusive contract. I am not a producer. I'm paid on the show. When I am not working, I have no income.
Did the management of France Televisions offer you a package with several other programs?
I would like to, but it doesn't work like that at all. They know that I want to do a lot of things: redo fiction, host a show where there is music, or present a program with Olivier Minne. I have loved him for a very long time. He is handsome, muscular and he smells good!
Eurovision, for example, would you like it?
I dream of commenting on it! I've been a big fan of Eurovision since I was a kid. But it is a difficult exercise, because all televiewers dream of only one thing: that the host is silent!
After an episode of “Mongeville” and “Joséphine, Ange garde”, do you have any concrete fictional projects?
Yes, several. I love to shoot. With Mimi Mathy, we had a great time in this episode which has not yet been broadcast. I play the assistant of Francis Perrin, to whom Joséphine helps. I am dressed in any way and very inhabited. It looks like Thérèse in "Father Christmas is a junk".
After "Mask Singer", you hoped to take the stage to sing in a musical. What is it?
During confinement, I did concerts on social networks with musician friends. We wrote about thirty titles. People's feedback was nice. As soon as the Covid allows, we enter the studio. We won't be on the radio, will we? We won't make any money with this album. But the goal is to tour. It makes me want for a long time. Whereas the theater, strangely enough, distresses me. I have often been offered things, in particular a piece called “la Grosse Méchante” , or to cover hits by Micheline Dax or Maria Pacôme.
And how is your health? Have you posted disturbing photos of yourself in hospital several times?
To register 8 numbers of "Password" per day, you need health, do not worry! Everyone now knows that I have polyarthritis. It is an autoimmune disease that cannot really be cured. I am on treatment, my condition is not getting worse. I have suffered from it for a very long time, but it has never stopped me from working. I am a fighter. And when my daughter pities me and says: Oh my poor mom , I am smiling immediately!