the essential
He returns to the controls of Bigdil, a cult game from the 90s broadcast on RMC Story. And it was a success: 1.8 million viewers attended, propelling the channel to a historic audience level. But the 65-year-old presenter has a modest triumph, and takes a nostalgic look at a bygone era.
La Dépêche: did you hesitate to come back with the Bigdil, twenty years later?
Vincent Lagaf’: I even refused three times before saying yes to the fourth! I wanted this return to happen the way I wanted it. When we agreed, I went for it. And to my great surprise, despite my nervousness during the first recording, all my automatisms immediately returned. I was nervous, but I need my dose of adrenaline. I still shot 1,395 issues of Bigdil in seven years in the 90s! For this return, thirty broadcasts were recorded in around two weeks. So my mission is complete. I went back to where I feel best, at home, in the Var. I have no pleasure in staying in Paris: I don’t like the weather, the smells, nothing!
What state of mind were you in before the first audience results came in?
I didn’t know what to expect, but I said the day before the first broadcast that if we had a million viewers, we’d be on top of the world! Frankly, I didn’t expect such high numbers. This first issue actually brought together 1.8 million people in front of their TV, the best score since the creation of TNT in 2005, and had 2.847 million views for its two broadcasts and the replay. I am sixty-five years old, my career is behind me. But I find that this success comes full circle nicely. If I had failed, I would have hung up my gloves straight away. I definitely don’t want to make people drunk. Today (a few hours before the broadcast of a second issue, editor’s note), I’m even more nervous than last week: if the figures are still as good, everything will be fine, but maybe it’s okay ‘collapse, we don’t know…** At the same time, in life, it’s when it’s risky that I like it! It’s not for nothing that I like car racing, jet skiing, kiting, buggying or trials!
What is new in 2025 are social networks on which people give their opinions live. Do you pay attention to what is said about you there?
No, I’m only interested in the statistics, not the comments. I don’t read them. Because I know that out of a hundred nice messages, we will only remember “the” terrible message. I leave the Internet vigilantes to their pathetic lives.
What do you know about your Bigdil version 2025 audience?
For many, these are people who were already watching in the 90s. Some bring their children so that they can see what their parents liked at that time. I have new little viewers aged 7 to 11! With my forty-five-year career, I have the chance to touch four generations.
What is it that viewers like so much?
Bigdil was the parents’ recreation. There is no aggression, no violence, no outrage. I am familiar, certainly, but no more. I try to make people say to themselves, “Put Lagaf’on, we’ll have a laugh without being uncomfortable.” We always make fun of something or someone when we make people laugh. But there is a way to do it. That’s why I liked Les Inconnus, le Bébête Show or Le Petit Rapporteur. Today, a guy who can’t string three words together in French can be on TV. Before, it took a bit of talent to get there.
In twenty years, society has evolved. How do you view these changes?
I tend to think that in part, yes, it was better before, as they say. But my father said it too, and my grandfather before him. And I tell my son today. I liked driving fast, being able to say what I had to say without hurting anyone. Twenty years ago, I was not at a loss to say “Hello sir” without risking being told “what makes you say that I am a man?” “. I could tell a woman with a pretty cleavage that I was having trouble looking her in the eyes without coming across as an aggressor. Many women, including mine, appreciate being looked at in the street! The other day I held the door for a lady who said to me, “You think I can’t hold it myself?” “. We can’t even be gallant anymore. The era is still a bit complicated. We were freer in the 90s, in any case we had fewer constraints. The relationships were simpler, more natural.
Every Friday at 9:10 p.m. on RMC Story and available from 6 a.m. on RMC BFM Play. To read, his autobiography: “My name was Franck”, XO éditions, €21.90, 2,023.
