Les Grosses Têtes (; ("The Big Heads" or "The Big Brains" in English) is a daily comedy radio programme on the
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
RTL radio network. Broadcast since 1 April 1977, the current host since 2014 has been
Laurent Ruquier
Laurent Hugues Emmanuel Ruquier (; born 24 February 1963) is a French television presenter, radio host and comedian. He is also a lyricist, writer, columnist and impresario; he has been co-owner and general manager of Théâtre Antoine-Simone Be ...
.
Presently broadcast from 15:30 to 18:00 in France and Belgium (on
Bel RTL
Bel RTL is a commercial radio network broadcasting in Brussels and Wallonia (French-speaking Belgium). The station is owned by the Radio H holding company, which is part of the Luxembourg-based RTL Group. It is now owned by DPG Media and Groupe ...
) this show has several regular segments. The first quarter of the show is hard-hitting news and the next quarter deals with cultural issues. Then, for the next 30 minutes the host takes phone calls from listeners. Finally, guests are interviewed and joked about (these jokes are called ''gauloises'' on the show). Part of the format is when guests are asked questions sent in by the listeners, the most famous being Mme Leprieur.
History
In 2000, station managers thought that they could do without the services of their aging top host (''animateur de référence'') and replaced him with
Christophe Dechavanne
Christophe Dechavanne (; born 23 January 1958), is a French television and radio host
and program producer.
Biography
Dechavanne attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school. He started working as a radio host in the early 1980s. In 1985, he pr ...
. The rapid loss of listeners showed that the program's success was due as much to the audience's attachment to the hosts as to its formula, which led to the return of
Philippe Bouvard
Philippe Bouvard (; born 6 December 1929 in Coulommiers) is a French television and radio presenter. From 1977 to 2014 he hosted the French radio program ''Les Grosses Têtes'' on Radio Luxemburg RTL, from 1982 to 1986 he hosted the television ...
as host and producer of the show the following season. Since then, the show has been hosted by
Laurent Ruquier
Laurent Hugues Emmanuel Ruquier (; born 24 February 1963) is a French television presenter, radio host and comedian. He is also a lyricist, writer, columnist and impresario; he has been co-owner and general manager of Théâtre Antoine-Simone Be ...
.
On television
A TV version aired in 1985 on
Antenne 2
France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews.
Since 3:20 CET on 7 Ap ...
to celebrate its 2500th show, followed by another in 1992 for the 5000th show on TF1. A regular TV version aired on TF1 from 1992 to 1997 on Saturday evenings, with the same principles as the radio show. It attracted 11.2 million viewers.
''Les Grosses Tetes'' has had many more special TV shows since then on
France 2
France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews.
Since 3:20 CET on 7 ...
.
Reception and criticism
''Les Grosses Tetes'' is the most popular show on RTL. Nevertheless it has been criticised for its crude humour with elements of racism, sexism and homophobia.
On 27 March 1996, Philippe Bouvard,
Vincent Perrot
Vincent Perrot (born 3 August 1965, in Confolens) is a French journalist, radio and television presenter and drag racing driver.
Biography
Perrot's father was the Mayor of the town and died when Vincent was 11. His mother Marina decided to ...
, and the president of TF1 Patrick Le Lay were fined for having provoked racial hatred by telling a riddle comparing
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
women to robbers.
The Association of LGBT Journalists investigated the show in 2020, noting homophobic and sexist humour as well as jokes about
Romanians
The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
and
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
being thieves, and Asian people being responsible for the
Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Notable past members
*
Léon Zitrone
Léon Zitrone (25 November 1914 – 25 November 1995) was a Russian-born French journalist and television presenter.
Biography
Zitrone was born in Petrograd, Russia. He arrived in France with his family fleeing communism at the age of six. H ...
Olivier de Kersauson
Olivier de Kersauson de Pennendreff (born 20 July 1944) is a French sailor and sailing champion.
Kersauson was the seventh child in a family of eight. While he was the only Kersauson not to have been born in Brittany, he was born on 20 July 1944 ...
*
Jackie Sardou
Jackie Sardou (7 April 1919 – 2 April 1998) was a French actress.
Personal life
She was born Jacqueline Labbé in Paris, and married Fernand Sardou, a singer.
She was the mother of singer Michel Sardou; and grandmother of author Romain Sardou ...
*
Jean-Pierre Foucault
Jean-Pierre Foucault (; born 23 November 1947 in Marseille) is a French television and radio host.
He was born in Marseille, his mother was Jewish.
He was the host of '' Qui Veut Gagner des Millions ?'', the French version of ''Who Wants to Be a ...
*
Jean Dutourd
Jean Gwenaël Dutourd (; 14 January 192017 January 2011) was a French novelist.
Biography
Dutourd was born in Paris. His mother died when he was seven years old. At the age of twenty, he was taken prisoner fifteen days after Germany's invasion ...
*
Alice Sapritch
Alice Sapritch (29 July 1916 – 24 March 1990) was a French film actress. She appeared in 66 films between 1950 and 1989.
Partial filmography
* ''Le tampon du capiston'' (1950) - La pharmacienne
* ''Le crime du Bouif'' (1952)
* ''If Pari ...
*
Michel Galabru
Michel Louis Edmond Galabru (27 October 19224 January 2016) was a French actor.
Career
Galabru appeared in more than 250 films and worked with directors such as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson (for '' Subway''), and Jean-Luc Godard. ...
Jean-Claude Brialy
Jean-Claude Brialy (30 March 1933 – 30 May 2007) was a French actor and film director.
Early life
Brialy was born in Aumale (now Sour El-Ghozlane), French Algeria, where his father was stationed with the French Army. Brialy moved to mainland ...
*
Jean Yanne
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* J ...
Thierry Roland
Thierry José Roland (; 4 August 1937 – 16 June 2012) was a French sports commentator who was France's leading football commentator for 59 years. He began his career as a radio journalist for the ORTF when he was just 16 years old. Roland the ...
*
Pierre Bellemare
Pierre Bellemare (21 October 1929 – 26 May 2018) was a French writer, novelist, radio personality, television presenter, TV producer, director, and actor.
Television
* ''La Tête et les Jambes''
* '' La Caméra invisible''
* '' J'ai un Secre ...
Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear (; born 1939) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress, and former model.
She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s, and went on to model for Paco Rabanne, Ossie Clark, and ...
*
Macha Méril
Macha Méril (; born Princess Maria-Magdalena Vladimirovna Gagarina on 3 September 1940) is a French actress and writer.
Biography
Méril is descended by her father from the Russian princely house Gagarin and by her mother from a Ukrainian nob ...
*
Liane Foly
Liane Foly (born 16 December 1962, in Lyon) is a popular French blues and jazz singer, actress, presenter and impressionist.
Early years
Foly was born 16 December 1962Interview in the magazine '' VSD'', p. 98, no 1477, 14–20 December 2005 in ...
Current members of the panel
*
Jacques Balutin
Jacques Balutin is a French actor.Jacques Mailhot (1983, since 1997)
* Bernard Mabille (1985 / 1991-1992, since 2001)
*
Chantal Ladesou
Chantal Ladesou (born 5 May 1948) is a French actress and comedian.
Personal life
Ladesou met her husband Michel Ansault and with whom she had three children, two boys, Alix (who died in a car accident), Julien and a daughter, the actress Cl ...
Laurent Baffie
Laurent Baffie (born 18 April 1958 in Montreuil) is a French author, short film director and humorist.
Baffie (often only called by his last name ‘ugly frenchman’) is famous for his funny hidden cameras, sense of repartee, biting humour a ...
(1992-1993 / 1998-1999, since 2013)
*
Isabelle Alonso
Isabelle Alonso is a French writer of Spanish extraction. Her parents were exiled Spanish Republicans, and Alonso became a naturalized
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may a ...
(1996-2000, since 2014)
*
Pierre Bénichou
Pierre Bénichou, Commandeur, (1 March 1938 – 31 March 2020) was a French journalist.
Early life
Pierre Bénichou was born on 1 March 1938 in Oran, French Algeria. His father, André Bénichou, a philosophy professor, opened a private school a ...
(1999-2000, 2014-2020)
* Michèle Bernier (1984, since 2014)
*
Jean-Pierre Coffe
Jean-Pierre Coffe (; 24 March 1938 – 29 March 2016) was a French radio and television presenter, food critic, and author.
Early life and education
Jean-Pierre Coffe spent a major part of his childhood in the town where he was born, Lunévill ...
(1986-2010, 2014-2016)
*
Christophe Dechavanne
Christophe Dechavanne (; born 23 January 1958), is a French television and radio host
and program producer.
Biography
Dechavanne attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school. He started working as a radio host in the early 1980s. In 1985, he pr ...
(2000, since 2015)
*
Arielle Dombasle
Arielle Dombasle (born April 27, 1953)Dombasle's year of birth has been a subject of much debate, and various sources have given dates ranging from 1953 to 1958. is an American-born French singer, actress, director and model. Her breakthrough ro ...
(since January 2016)
*
Michel Drucker
Michel Drucker, CQ (born 12 September 1942 in Vire) is a popular French journalist and TV host. He has been on screen for so long on various shows and different networks, both public and private, that he once said that some people joked that h ...
Sophie Garel
Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise".
People with the name Born in the Middle Ages
* Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson
* Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...
(1982, since 2014)
*
Marie Laforêt
Marie Laforêt (born Maïtena Marie Brigitte Doumenach; 5 October 1939 – 2 November 2019) was a French singer and actress, particularly well known for her work during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, she moved to Geneva, and acquired Swiss citize ...
(1990, since 2014)
*
Isabelle Mergault
Isabelle Mergault (born 11 May 1958) is a French actress, director, writer and television/radio personality.
Personal life
Isabelle Mergault was born in Aubervilliers, Seine-Saint-Denis near Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populou ...
Thierry Ardisson
Thierry Ardisson (; born 6 January 1949, Bourganeuf, Creuse), is a French television producer and host and a movie producer.
Many of his shows have some of the longest run times on French television, such as ''Paris Dernière'', ''Tout le mo ...
(since 2014)
*
Guy Carlier
Guy or GUY may refer to:
Personal names
* Guy (given name)
* Guy (surname)
* That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart
Places
* Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet
* Guy, Arkansas, US, a city
* Guy, Indiana, US, an unincorpo ...
Philippe Geluck
Philippe Geluck (born 7 May 1954 in Belgium) is a Belgian comedian, humorist, television writer and cartoonist, who sold more than 14 million albums worldwide. He studied at the INSAS (''Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle'', N ...
(since 2014)
*
Franz-Olivier Giesbert
Franz-Olivier Giesbert (born January 18, 1949, in Wilmington, Delaware) is an American-born French journalist, author, and television presenter.
Giesbert worked for ''Le Figaro'' from 1988 to 2000 and for '' Le Point'' starting in 2000.
In 2013 ...
Amanda Sthers
Amanda Queffélec-Maruani (born 18 April 1978), known professionally as Amanda Sthers, is a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker.
Biography
Sthers is of Tunisian Sefardi and Breton origins. She has written ten novels which ha ...
Christophe Beaugrand
Christophe Beaugrand (born January 2, 1977) is a French television presenter and journalist.
Early life and education
Christophe Beaugrand was born in Massy, Essonne, Massy in the department of Essonne. During his adolescence, he wrote for tel ...
Christine Bravo
Christine Bravo (born 13 May 1956) is a French television presenter, journalist, columnist and author.
Biography
Christine Bravo was born in Paris, her father Antonio Bravo was a Spanish mason from Toledo.François-Henri Désérable (since 2014)
*
Yann Moix
Yann Moix (, ; born 31 March 1968) is a French author, film director and television presenter. He is the author of ten novels and the recipient of several literary prizes. He has directed three films. He was a columnist on '' On n'est pas couch ...
Baptiste Lecaplain
Baptiste Lecaplain (born 23 May 1985 in Mortain) is a French comedian and actor. He does stand-up comedy and has appeared in some films.
Early life
In 2004, he got his baccalauréat. After that, he was a youth leader at Levallois-Perret but he q ...
Karine Lemarchand
Karine is a feminine French given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Karine Bakhoum, Egyptian American chef
* Karine Baste (born 1982), French journalist and news presenter
* Karine Beauchard (born 1978), French mathematician
*Karine B ...
(since 2014)
*
Bérengère Krief
Bérengère Krief (born 16 April 1983) is a French actress and comedian.
Filmography
Theater
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krief, Berengere
French film actresses
1983 births
Living people
21st-century French actress ...
(since 2014)
*
Jean-Luc Moreau
Jean-Luc may refer to:
In politics:
* Jean-Luc Bennahmias (born 1954), a French politician and Member of the European Parliament
* Jean-Luc Dehaene (1940–2014), a Flemish politician
* Jean-Luc Laurent (born 1957), a French politician
* Jean-Luc ...
(since 2014)
*
Christine Ockrent
Christine Ockrent (born 24 April 1944) is a Belgian journalist whose career has principally centered on French television.
She interviewed Amir Abbas Hoveyda, the former Iranian prime minister, in Evin prison after the Islamic revolution in 197 ...
Éric Thomas
Éric eʁikis a French masculine given name, the equivalent of English Eric. In French-speaking Canada and Belgium it is also sometimes unaccented, and pronounced "Eric" as English with the stress on the "i". A notable French exception is Erik Sa ...