A crazy and unexpected success! The French series “Plus belle la vie” will have kept millions of viewers spellbound for eighteen years… The end clap, unfortunately, will indeed take place next November with a final bonus. For the occasion, the production thought of bringing back many old characters who marked the public. Among them, it would not be surprising to find some sports stars who were part of the adventure, such as the Belgian tennis player Justine Hénin or the cyclist Thomas Voeckler. It is in its edition of Saturday, August 27 that “L’Equipe Magazine” recalls that the footballer Dimitri Payet but also the judo champion Teddy Rinner also came very close to being part of the series. But that didn’t happen, for unknown reasons. On the other hand, we know today, thanks to the interview in this same magazine of Michelle Podroznik, one of the producers of “Plus belle la vie”, why Zinédine Zidane could not integrate the cast. The 1998 world champion would obviously have liked to be part of this saga which takes place in Marseille, his city of heart. And “Given the notoriety of the series, nothing seemed impossible”, first underlined the producer before explaining: “Finally, we gave up. He would have welcomed us nicely, but having him on set means twelve bodyguards and a riot in Marseille.” In short, the logistics that must be put in place around such a star discouraged this production which, all in all, is far from those of American blockbusters, accustomed to managing this type of situation. A great pity for the fans who would surely have redoubled their attention in front of their small screens. And it’s another sportsman that they were able to follow, during about thirty episodes, who knew how to establish himself as a recurring role: it is the Paralympic swimmer Théo Curin who, under cover of the character of Hugo Castel, was a freediver for the purposes of the scenario. “Now, I have the reflex to turn around when someone calls me Hugo in the street”, confided the latter! Like what, the roles leave but the memories remain forever…
See also: