William Pinville: the iconic voice of Questions for a Champion died suddenly

Presented since 2016 by Samuel Etienne, Questions for a champion has long been embodied by Julien Lepers. The former presenter of France 3, who also composed Herbert Léonard's hit For pleasurehosted this show from 1988 to 2016. An adventure that he shared with
William Pinville, game voiceoverfrom 1992.

Questions for a champion is in mourning. This Tuesday, November 19, William Pinville died. The information was confirmed this Thursday to our colleagues at BFMTV by the TV Conseil agency, which manages the program's communication.

William Pinville: Julien Lepers' accomplice for 24 years

Although his face only rarely appeared on screen, William Pinville was one of the most important speakers on Questions for a Champion. For 24 years he lent his voice to the game broadcast every day on France 3. Its role: introduce the candidates, announce the amount of the prize pool and present the gifts won by the lucky winners. An indispensable presence which made the heyday of the flagship program of the three.

In 2016, William Pinville was discarded of the show at the same time as the historic host, Julien Lepers. A year earlier, the two men were appeared to be accomplices on the board. For a few seconds, the host had given way to his voice-over. A rare moment of exchange in front of the cameras.

Who was William Pinville?

William Pinville was an actor. Like Jean-Luc Reichmann or Guy Lecluyse, it was as a voice-over that he began to make himself known to viewers. Previously, he had a series of experiences asradio presenter. Outside of his TV duties, he lent his voice to documentaries and commercials.

And then, he had also participated in dubbing in cinema and the realization of audio books dedicated to children. A complete career praised in 2008 by Jean-Michel Maire on the set of TPMP on C8. The columnist had specified that the voice-over of Questions pour un champion wrote itself “the small texts of 5 or 6 seconds which are used to present the candidates”. According to media journalist Clément Garin, William Pinville died of a heart attack.