Do you think you know everything about Koh-Lanta? Make no mistake because TF1's flagship show had to deal with an unusual situation. We'll explain it to you.
Every year, Koh-Lanta brings together millions of spectators. It must be said that this show, broadcast on TF1, brings together all the ingredients to please: colorful adventurers, sporting events, intrigues, cruel eliminations, as well as Denis Brogniart, the flagship presenter of the program.
If the adventure game is well put together, an unusual situation crept into the ninth season (2009), entitled “Koh-Lanta, Palau”.
This edition had to deal with a particular case when a participant named Joëlle asked not to appear on screen. A first in the history of the television show.
Photo credit: TF1
As our colleagues at puremedias point out, the candidate was cut from the credits. And that's not all. She did not have a portrait and her name was not mentioned on television.
The one who presented herself as a teacher was nevertheless mentioned by a voice-over: “An adventurer also lost this game and, for reasons of her own, you will not see her image. She leaves 'Koh-Lanta' for good».
“There was a big mistake”
In an interview given to Télé-Loisirs this Tuesday, November 26, Julien Magne, producer of the show, gives details on this episode.
«During editing, one person was cut entirely at their request. There had been a big mistake during the selections and it was someone who was very frustrated to be eliminated on the first day of the adventure. But apart from this case, there have been no other requests»,
At the time, Joëlle gave her version of the facts in the columns of L'Indépendant. According to her, she was manipulated by production.
“The collapse. All this 5 month preparation. My goal was not to win but to be eliminated in the regular way after the color distribution… I was excluded before the game started. It’s the unexperienced that I don’t accept,” the ghost candidate then confided.
Photo credit: TF1 / Christophe Chevalin
The least we can say is that Joëlle has very bad memories of the first test of the adventure, which took place before the teams were divided.
As she explains, “participants spent an entire night on a boat in the middle of a storm, parked at the front of the boat. Sick candidates who stepped on each other to vomit overboard… There was a real risk taken».
At the time, Joëlle called the show “hell» and “trap», recalls puremedias. Her participation in Koh-Lanta had a huge impact on her mental health since she considered ending her life. For his part, Julien Magne ensures that this scenario will never be reproduced again.
«In more than twenty seasons, we have never had any complaints from adventurers who don't recognize themselves in the show.».
