I was very angry to have been betrayed: Bernard Montiel looks back on his abrupt departure from TF1

Since the 1980s, Bernard Montiel has established himself as a familiar figure on the small screen, hosting successful entertainment programs. On TF1, he hosts popular shows like “Vidéo Gag” and “Une famille en or,” both of which have made a mark on viewers. However, after over fifteen years of collaboration with the channel, this privileged relationship began to deteriorate in the early 2000s, amidst tensions and disagreements that eventually led to a abrupt break. It is an episode that he says he struggled with, as he revealed on Saturday, April 25 during an interview on RTL in “On refait la télé.”

Bernard Montiel: a sense of betrayal upon leaving TF1 Looking back, Bernard Montiel remembers the end of his time with TF1 very bitterly. The host recalls a cinema show project he thought he would launch on LCI: “I was supposed to do a cinema show on LCI. And they always refused me, they led me on… I had the title and everything! And when I returned from a festival, I read in the press that the show existed and had been given to someone else, with my entire concept!” A brutal discovery: “I was shocked, I lost my voice for six months. It was a terrible drama.”

A disillusion that fuels a sense of betrayal: at the time, his remarks on RMC, where he openly criticized TF1 and mocked his own show “Vidéo Gag,” only worsened the tensions. He then declared, “It’s a show I didn’t watch. But, well, I sit my fat butt on the benches and I make a lot of money. I’m happy!” “At one point, you feel mistreated. I was very angry to have been betrayed… And then, the hole, a huge hole in my life,” he adds today.

A journey through the desert before a rebound His statements quickly prompted a reaction from the channel. Bernard Montiel recalls a call from Étienne Mougeotte: “Well Bernard, I’m sorry, all this has caused such a stir with everything you’ve said. Damn, why did you say all this, damn it! I have to fire you.” A brutal dismissal that marked the beginning of a particularly difficult period. “I was ready to completely change my career. I was rejected everywhere, the big bosses were calling each other… I was lost,” he confesses. After this journey through the desert, the host eventually bounced back the following year on TMC, before continuing his career on radio and television, notably as a columnist alongside Cyril Hanouna before leaving the group in 2025.