He was little known to the general public but left his mark on the minds of the many adventurers of “Koh Lanta”. Cameraman for the TF1 game show for more than 20 years, Stéphane Rauch died this Friday.
It was the presenter of the show, Denis Brogniart, who announced the sad news via a publication on his Instagram page. “We understood each other at a glance, we shared the same passion for this program. He was a faithful man, of great honesty, an outstanding cameraman, tireless, a guy that I loved, tough to a fault, loud-mouthed, with a fucking personality, a physique, a banter, convictions, the all tinged with sweetness and tenderness“, he writes.
“Stéphane inspired the youngest, he left his mark on the adventurers of Koh Lanta… we called you COLONEL my Steph (…) Where you are today, we had to name you GENERAL!“, we can also read.
It didn’t take long for the tributes to follow. Many “Koh Lanta” candidates shared their sadness in the comments. Claude Dartois, 3 times finalist out of 4 participations in the adventure game, writes: “You were always there Stéphane behind your camera, capturing every moment, but also sharing this unique adventure with us. You were always there in the water fishing with me“.
Teheiura Teahui, another emblematic adventurer, also shares his memories. “I remember you scared the fish away when you filmed me spearfishing, you pointed your camera at us even before sunrise with the light right in our eyes while we were still half asleep. In 5 seasons, we’ve had quite a few anecdotes with youi,” he wrote.
“Rest in peace in the most beautiful paradise my Stef… I remember our many discussions but also our meeting in 2003“, shares Moundir Zoughari.
Laurent Maistret, now presenter on W9, paid tribute to him by publishing a photo of him alongside Stéphane Rauch in a story: “Rest in peace my Stef“.
Production company Adventure Lines Production shared its “tender thoughts” and his condolences in a publication on X. “It is with deep sadness that we learn of the death of Stéphane Rauch, cameraman and friend since 2003 on #KohLanta.”
As Denis Brogniart points out, “all the Koh Lanta teams are very sad” of the disappearance of this emblematic figure of the adventure game who will have marked the adventures of the candidates and the members of the production of numerous memories.
