BVSaartje Vandendriessche (47) has been fired by the VRT, she confirms viasocial media. Vandendriessche was a broadcaster for One for many years andmade various programs for public broadcasting for more than 17 years,including the recent ‘Saar in the forest’. In addition to Saartje, Tomas DeSoete was also thanked for services rendered. That news was confirmed to oureditors.
Little by little it becomes clear who exactly was fired at VRT in the round oflayoffs earlier this week. As part of the transformation plan, it was decidedthat some 68 people would have to leave. Earlier it became known that GeenaLisa and reporter Annick Ruyts, among others, had been fired, but it nowappears that Saartje Vandendriessche must also leave.
LOOK. Earlier it became known that Geena Lisa, among others, had been fired.Here she talks about her life after her TV career
“It is true that I no longer work for VRT,” Saartje responds via Instagram.“For some time now, there have been talks with the VRT about converting myemployee status to self-employed status. This discontinuation of the employeestatus is therefore no surprise.” However, Vandendriessche says that futurecollaborations with the VRT are still possible. “In the future, I willcertainly continue to devote my time and energy to those subjects that areclose to my heart and that still get me really excited. At the VRT or throughother channels.”
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The right idea
The presenter was seen from 2005 to 2015 as an announcer at One. She was alsoone of the faces of ‘Vlaanderen Vakantieland’ and presented, among otherthings, ‘De Nudekalender’ on One and ‘De Pretshow’ on Ketnet. She recentlymade the program ‘Op de man af’ for the public broadcaster, in which she tookon a sporting challenge against a male opponent every week, and ‘Saar in theforest’, in which she tried to survive in the forest for three weeks.
Earlier this year she released the book ‘Nooit meer tired’. In an interviewwith NINA about the book, she said that she had just recorded a talk show forProximus Pickx. “In it I talk to two well-known guests. I am also still activeat VRT. But I am not waiting for them to come up with something,” saidVandendriessche. “I develop things myself such as ‘Saar in the woods’ and’True to man’. I just haven’t found the right idea yet. But I still like doingTV. I know what I am very good at. And my stories have not yet been told.” Herage didn’t matter, she thought. “People sometimes dare to say that: ‘You areapproaching fifty’ – but so what? They question the combination of that age ontelevision. That’s their opinion. It’s up to me to fight against that.”
Thomas
Tomas De Soete, TV maker and radio voice, also no longer works for the publicbroadcaster. That news was confirmed to our editors. De Soete made a name forhimself as a presenter at Studio Brussel, and later made several VRT programs,such as ‘Fiskepark’.