On January 16, Beijing Express began its twentieth season, entitled The Route of the Legendary Tribes. This anniversary edition, broadcast every Thursday on M6, takes the candidates across Africa. After starting in Tanzania, the pairs cross Mozambique and Lesotho before finishing in South Africa. This year, ten duos compete, and an emblematic rule, the “mystery passenger“, is making its comeback, integrating celebrities into the adventure. Stéphane Rotenberg, loyal to the position for almost two decades, is delighted to guide these new candidates. However, this role was almost taken by someone else in 2012, as he confided on the set of C to you.
Stéphane Rotenberg looks back on his serious road accident which occurred during season 8 of Beijing Express in 2012
Guest of the show C to you this Tuesday, January 21, Stéphane Rotenberg returned to his accident in 2012. While driving a sidecar in the Philippines, the host hit a car, seriously injuring his head. “I'll tell you. The thing that's happening at the time, that's what I understand – because I have blood everywhere – that it will be seen, and so I say: who can replace me?” he explained. Immediately thinking about the future of the show, he considered calling on Faustine Bollaert: “I think of Faustine Bollaert. So it's weird to say that, but at the time she was on M6, she was a mystery passenger, so she did Beijing Express, where she agreed to be filmed without makeup, from the wrong angles, etc. I know she's all terrain.“
Stéphane Rotenberg recounts the conversation he had with the producer of Beijing Express after his serious road accident
This reflection of finding his replacement as quickly as possible, the flagship host of the adventure game explains it by his team spirit: “In fact, I have a reflex. There are 140 of us on set. So I have team spirit. I say to myself, how are we going to do this? It has to work! Really, I promise you, I think about that.” Finally, despite his injuries, Stéphane Rotenberg continued the adventure. “Very quickly, I understand that I am alive. I say to myself: 'well, on the other hand, I can't shoot because I'm scarred, all that'. And in fact, the producer does : 'No, we're going to put a bandage on you, you're going to put on a cap, that'll do it.' And I was bandaged for several weeks.”
