Every Sunday morning for more than 35 years, car enthusiasts can tune into M6 to discover a new issue of Turbo. They have found its inseparable presenter there for just as long Dominique Chapatte. The latter has been its editor-in-chief and host since its creation in 1987, the same year the channel was launched. “I had been working for a while for RTL radio and RTL television, where I was already testing cars. That's how I was asked to take the lead on the show. There were quite a few movements at the beginning of the history of M6 but I stayed… and I'm still here thirty-five years later”he confided during an interview with Parisian in April 2022.
And although now 76 years old, the very discreet Dominique Chapatte, who has already ended up in the hospital because of a well-known actor, does not yet seem ready to return to the air, although he is well aware that this will happen one day. “We think about it all the time, obviously. It's like in a relationship. When you disagree, you frequently say to yourself: 'We're going to separate.' And one day it happens.”he compared with our colleagues. But for now, no downside! “We have a wonderful understanding with the bosses. But every professional adventure has an end. There we signed a one-year contract. If it stops, it stops. I won't complain.”he added lucidly two years ago.
Change at M6 but popularity intact for Dominique Chapatte
The great adventure could indeed easily continue given the very good relationships that Dominique Chapatte maintains with the leaders of M6. At least, when Nicolas de Tavernost was still in charge. “It’s more than confidence. It’s a real collusion with Nicolas de Tavernost and Thomas Valentin (president and vice-president of the management board of the M6 group, editor’s note). I have always been lucky in my professional life to have bosses that I admired and for whom I wanted to fight.”he could rejoice. From now on, and since April 23, 2024, it is David Larramendy who is at the head of the M6 group, following the departure of Nicolas de Tavernost.
It is therefore impossible to know what the status of the relationship between the star of Turbo and the new boss but one thing is certain, the presenter still enjoys great popularity. “It would be conceited to say that there is a miracle recipe. It is rather a mixture of three Ps: undeniably passion, proximity and sharing. And without ever locking yourself in a bubble. I have always been a popular presenter. I like people, I always wanted to speak to them directly. And when they approach me in the street, they tell me that I'm as kind and simple as on the air.” So, more good years to come for Dominique Chapatte? Time will tell!
