On March 8, 2022, the issue The Kindergarten House will celebrate its 20th anniversary, on France 2. For the occasion, all the presenters of the show will be back, including Maïtena Biraben. Asked by TV Major Channels with the current host Agathe Lecaron, the 54-year-old presenter remembered the good times, like the bad times.
The charming blonde had the honor of being at the helm of the program, baptized Kindergartens and broadcast on France 5 at the time, from 2001 to 2004. Yet when it was offered to her, she was “moderately horny“. She hadn’t understood the concept, because she thought it was a show for children. But she quickly understood that in reality, it was dedicated to future and young parents and that she was intended to help them through expert advice and testimonials.”It’s a jewel in my life, one of the best things that ever happened to me on TV. At the time, I was raising my little boy alone, it was very difficult. So I was happy to have the best specialists at my disposal every day.“, confided the mother of Gabriel (born of her union with Pierre Clément) and Lucas (born in 1996 from a previous marriage).
The Kindergarten House quickly hit the mark with the public, especially because the team did not hesitate to bring up many taboo subjects such as obstetrical violence, sexuality during pregnancy or denial of pregnancy. Some were emotionally strong for Maïtena Biraben who remembers each testimony, including one that she mentioned and which concerns a woman who gave birth to a dead baby. “She told me: ‘They brought me my baby. And you know what they put him in? In a shoebox…’“, she recalled.
In some cases, it was better to be strong in order to face certain testimonies. But the former presenter of Canal + does not hide it, she sometimes had to leave the set so as not to crack. “During another show, we were supposed to tackle the theme of teenage mothers with two daughters on the set. Being a mother at 14, there is something wrong with this sentence. It is very violent to see childhood suddenly come to an end. During the broadcast of a subject, I had to go out for a few moments to drink a glass of whiskey to succeed in giving them the floor, it was so hard“, she admitted to our colleagues. But the game was worth the candle.
The full interview can be found in the magazine TV Major Channels of February 28, 2022.