Since September, when Sébastien Benoit was approached in the street, he has been able to see the full extent of the phenomenon Masked singers. The host took the reins of a popular show in which he quickly felt like he was on familiar ground. He tells us about his various projects and the importance of taking time for his family.
• Also read: “Masked singers”: The revealed identity of a host and actor
If Sébastien Benoit experienced real pleasure in recording the episodes of Masked singers last summer, he has just as many to watch them this fall. “What’s fascinating is people’s reaction. When I meet them in the street, they tell me about the characters. They give me their impressions and they make their predictions. I find it really fun. I realize that this show leaves no one indifferent. People watch it with their families and many do it live on Sundays. Everyone has an opinion on who is behind the costumes. It’s truly intoxicating!”
Obviously he can't say anything about the masked singers. “It’s been harder since the start of the school year. I started radio again with Isabelle Racicot and José Gaudet, and we receive guests. When I find myself in the same room as someone who hasn't yet been unmasked, the feeling is weird. There are also friends who see me and tell me that according to them, it is so and so who is in such and such a costume; I always tell them the same thing: that it’s not stupid and that I like it.”
On familiar ground
Even if he was embarking on a concept that was already well-established, Sébastien wanted to add his own color to it, in terms of animation, by sometimes giving more musical information on the songs performed by the masked singers. “I didn't want to be too edgy in my tone, except at the time of the reveals, because it's a show where everything is huge. For the numbers, my presentations are scripted, but in my exchanges with the four investigators, it is ad lib. And this is where I thank life for all my years of experience in radio! I feel in my element, and that's what I'm most happy with. It’s not a host and his investigators, but a gang having fun and trying to help you find out who’s hiding in the costumes.”
Quickly, he felt like he was part of the gang, as if he had always been there. “From our first meeting, the members of the Productions Déferlantes team told me that I was not replacing anyone and that I was now the host of the show. I was made very welcome. I have known Stéphane for several years. We even found ourselves by chance at the same Club Med several years ago. We talked a lot. I experienced an episode of Coups de food, during the pandemic, with Sam Breton. I remember it was July and it was 37 degrees. We had a technical break, so he told me that he would return to the South Shore, but as we were starting to be able to receive people at home, I told him to come to my house. I gave him a swimsuit and we went for a swim. Anouk is my ex. I was with her for three years, and we left on very good terms. He has always remained someone I love very much. Mélissa is the one I knew the least. His enthusiasm is contagious. It was super easy with her. And during the production, I found Luc Sirois, with whom I had done The fury. The content producer, Martin Proulx, was the lawyer forOccupation double when I hosted this show. Now he works more in television production. So I was very quickly on familiar ground, and I was made to feel like a full member of the gang.”
Projects of the heart
No matter what project Sébastien takes on, it quickly turns into an affair of the heart. It is in its fourth season with José Gaudet and Isabelle Racicot in It's 4 o'clock somewhere at Rythme FM. “Isabelle and I have known each other for almost 30 years. José, I knew him by reputation. We very quickly learned to know and love each other. He became a friend. It's the same thing with Julie Houle and Richard Turcotte at The goose that lays the golden eggs. I am truly privileged. I work with good people in all the projects I get involved in.” The foodie that he is is not left out thanks to Food shotswhose 11th season will be broadcast on Zeste next winter. This show makes him particularly proud, since he will receive, among others, Gino Chouinard, Julie Bélanger and Christian Bégin, three artists he has wanted to have on the show for a long time. “Christian Bégin, for obvious reasons. It was almost a crime not to welcome a guy as foodie as him to our show. Julie Bélanger is a girl I have adored for a long time; and in the summer, she wanted to take it off. Then Gino! It was time to invite him now that he has more time.”
Present for Laurent
Despite his busy schedule, Sébastien Benoit makes it his duty to be an involved dad for his son, Laurent, 12, who is in a high school soccer sports-studies program. The host and his wife, Karine Dumont, occasionally follow him in his tournaments. “I like it. In the last year, we went to Biarritz in France, Boston and Hamilton. I just have one child. I want to be present because I don't want to miss my shot. And I don't have to divide myself between two children, between one's ballet and the other's chess club. That's why I give him all my time. It's something I love doing. My girlfriend and I are sporty and we like watching events. With our son, we are pampered. What I like is that the sport-studies formula imposes discipline on it. In the morning he is on the field, and in the afternoon he is in class. In the evening, he plays in another club. It's a lot of organization. For now, he’s handling it really well and he does it with a lot of pride.”
Continue to choose yourself
He and his partner have been engaged for three years and they recently passed a crucial test for their relationship: that of renovating their house. “We've had the house for a long time and we decided to put some love into it. We are really happy.” The idea of getting married continues to float in the air. “The idea is there, but I don’t know when we will take action. Karine works and so do I. Projects pile up. There is our child through all of this. I like this idea of a couple with a child, with all that that entails. I still find it beautiful to see that we continue to choose each other despite everything. Maybe we'll get married at some point, but for now, we don't have anything concrete to announce.”
You can see Sébastien Benoit at TVA at The goose that lays the golden eggsSunday at 5:30 p.m. Then, it is Masked singers Sunday at 6:30 p.m., still on TVA. It can also be heard in It's 4 o'clock somewhereMonday to Thursday from 4 p.m., at Rythme FM.
