It’s a legendary show that’s losing its two mainstays. A few weeks ago, the management of France Télévisions formalized the fact that its cult game, Numbers and letters would no longer be on the air only on saturdayin a revised version but above all without Bertrand Renard and Arielle Boulin-Pratthe two co-hosts present respectively since 1975 and 1986 and who supported Laurent Romejko with the candidates.
A decision that greatly shocked loyal viewers … but also the two interested, furious to see the version given by the channel for which they worked forty-seven years for one, and thirty-six years for the other, and which, according to them, does not correspond at all to the real situation. In its announcements, France Télévisions simply made it known that the two colleagues had refused the new version of the gamequite a bit overhauled at the start of the school year.
A lie for them: in a joint press release sent to AFP and the Parisianboth evoke a “extremely violent situation“, and categorically deny the version of the head of games, Alexandra Redde-Hamiel.”We didn’t refuse the supposed new version of the game, since we were never presented with it“, they write, explaining that their “version is less candy pink” than that of the chain, which also had mentioned a “contractual disagreementto explain their departure.
“The candy pink has turned black with soot”
An argument that made the two interested parties mad with rage: “What is modestly referred to as a ‘contractual disagreement’ arose as FTV demanded a 60% pay cut and refused to grant us the CDI that we had the audacity to claim“, they reveal. According to our information, there were only two shows instead of five, which would explain the drop in salary…
Before regretting precarious working conditions: “The trend is not towards CDeization. Because yes, you read correctly, we have been on fixed-term contracts for 36 years for Arielle, and 47 years for Bertrand… We do not exist even though we are on the air every day. This regularization was flatly refused to us, without explanation. It is humanly unacceptable before it is legally“.
Denouncing the management of France Télévisions which chose “to record alone a breakup that has never been requested of him“, Bertrand Renard and Armelle Boulin-Prat end up expressing to the public, who are so faithful to them every evening, “all [leur] love and all [leur] sadness to leave him thus constrained and forced“. Before concluding with an eloquent: “Candy pink turned soot black“.
The management of France Télévisions has not yet responded to these accusations. The game, meanwhile, will be replaced on August 29 by another concept presented by Cyril Féraud. And we should still see Arielle Boulin-Prat and Bertrand Renard again until September 11 for the last numbers recorded before the summer. Then it will be time for them to bid farewell to viewers…