Les Grosses Têtes
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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 languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...
RTL RTL may refer to: Media * RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company *** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels) *** List of RTL Group's radio stations ** RTL Lëtzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...
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 B ...
. Presently broadcast from 15:30 to 18:00 in France and Belgium (on Bel RTL) 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. He is the host of '' La Roue de la fortune''. Biography Dechavanne attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school. He started working as a ...
. 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, Seine-et-Marne, 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 (French radio), ...
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 B ...
.


On television

A TV version aired in 1985 on
Antenne 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
to celebrate its 2500th show, followed by another in 1992 for the 5000th show on
TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...
. 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 free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
.


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, and the president of TF1 Patrick Le Lay were fined for having provoked racial hatred by telling a riddle comparing
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
women to robbers. The Association of LGBT Journalists investigated the show in 2020, noting homophobic and sexist humour as well as jokes about
Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...
and
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...
being thieves, and Asian people being responsible for the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


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 ...
* Carlos *
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 Michel Charles Sardou (; born 26 J ...
*
Jean-Pierre Foucault Jean-Pierre Foucault (; born 23 November 1947) is a French television and radio host. He was the host of ''Qui veut gagner des millions ?'', the French version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'', and of ''Zone Rouge'', the French version of ' ...
*
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 P ...
*
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. ...
* Jacques Martin *
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 Yanne (; born Jean Roger Gouyé ; 18 July 1933 – 23 May 2003) was a French actor, screenwriter, producer, director and composer. In 1972, he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film '' We Won't ...
* Sim * Thierry Roland *
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 Se ...
* Philippe Chevallier *
Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 18 June or 18 November 1939 or 1941 or 1946 or 1950) 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 ...
* Macha Méril *
Liane Foly Liane Foly (born 16 January 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. Career She was revealed to the public when participating in the TV Show ''La Classe'' in 1987. After the show, she started her career with several ''Solo performance, one-wom ...
(since 2010) * Jean-Jacques Peroni (since 1998) * Laurent Baffie (1992-1993 / 1998-1999, since 2013) * Isabelle Alonso (1996-2000, since 2014) * Pierre Bénichou (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, Lunévi ...
(1986-2010, 2014-2016) *
Christophe Dechavanne Christophe Dechavanne (; born 23 January 1958) is a French television and radio host and program producer. He is the host of '' La Roue de la fortune''. Biography Dechavanne attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school. He started working as a ...
(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) 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 he was in ...
(since 2014) * Danièle Évenou (since 2014) * Fabrice (2001-2002, since 2014) *
Sophie Garel Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". 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 * Soph ...
(1982, since 2014) *
Marie Laforêt Marie Laforêt (born Maïtena Marie Brigitte Douménach; 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 citi ...
(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. Filmography Actress Director / writer Th ...
(1988-2000, since 2014) * Claude Sarraute (1984-1995, since 2014) * Roger Zabel (80') (since 2014) *
Thierry Ardisson Thierry Ardisson (; born 6 January 1949) is a French television producer and host. Many of his shows have some of the longest run times on French television, such as ''Paris Dernière'', ''Tout le monde en parle'', and ''On a tout essayé.'' ...
(since 2014) * Guy Carlier (since 2014) * Caroline Diament (since 2014) * Fabrice Eboué (since 2014) * Florian Gazan (since 2014) * Philippe Geluck (since 2014) *
Franz-Olivier Giesbert Franz-Olivier Giesbert (born January 18, 1949) is an American-born French journalist, author, and television presenter. Early life Franz-Olivier Giesbert's American father was a painter and G.I. during D-Day, and his mother, a philosophy teacher ...
(since 2014) * Marcela Iacub (since 2014) *
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 hav ...
(since 2014) * Titoff (since 2014) *
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 in the department of Essonne. During his adolescence, he wrote for television series ...
(since 2014) * Steevy Boulay (since 2014) * Christine Bravo (since 2014) * François-Henri Désérable (since 2014) *
Yann Moix Yann Moix (, ; born 31 March 1968) is a French author, film director and media commentator. He is the author of ten novels and the recipient of several literary prizes. He has directed two feature films. He was a columnist on the talk show '' O ...
(since 2014) *
Cristiana Reali Cristiana Reali (born March 16, 1965) is a Brazilian actress. She has appeared in numerous theatre pieces, television series and a few movies. Biography Reali was born in São Paulo, Brazil, the daughter of the Brazilian journalist Elpídio Real ...
(since 2014) * Paul Wermus (since 2014) *
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 ...
(since 2014) *
Arnaud Ducret Arnaud Ducret (born 6 December 1978) is a French actor and comedian. Life and career In 2013, he plays Gaby alongside Alix Poisson (Isa) in Parents mode d'emploi, a series broadcast on France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public ...
(since 2014) * Karine Lemarchand (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 actres ...
(since 2014) * Jean-Luc Moreau (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 Qasr prison after the Islamic revolution in 197 ...
(since 2015) * Mustapha El Atrassi (since 2015) * Norbert Tarayre (since 2015) * Éric Thomas (since 2015) * Gérard Louvin (since 2015)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosses Tetes, Les Grosses Tetes, Les 1977 radio programme debuts French news radio programs Radio programs adapted into television shows