The trust that Unicorn Content and Mediaset España have placed in Joaquín Prat (Madrid, 48 years old) in recent years has led to the presenter taking part in all places on the grid. He has appeared in The Summer Program, Four a Day, It’s Almost Noon and the documentary The Charmer’s Hunt. Since last Monday he has been the main presenter of Vamos a ver, Telecinco’s morning show, far from the shadow of Ana Rosa Quintana. It’s 12 o’clock in the morning on a day in early September and you’re drinking your second coffee of the day. Alone, long and without sugar.
Questions. Will the Joaquín Prat of this stage be the one who freed himself from the shadow of Ana Rosa in Cuatro a día?
Answer. Out of the respect I have for Ana Rosa, she had a different role in her program. It was his farm and I was the foreman. In Cuatro a día, I don’t know if it was because of the pandemic, we were all scared, the one who spoke was Joaquín’s father, partner, son, friend… It wasn’t just the guy on TV. I forgot that I am a presenter who tells the topics and gets close to the lives of the viewer and the interviewees.
It doesn’t seem fair to me that we remember the Teresa of the last stage, which distorts the great woman and professional that she was.
Q When his network and production company asked him to direct “Cuatro a día,” he told them they would do a job for him. But then his interventions went viral almost every day.
R. When I arrived it was a hopeless program. And we return to the hearing. I shed all the burdens I was carrying and found my place on television. He spoke to the livers. When I first blurted out, I was surprised that no boss caught my attention. Now I want to be that Joaquín. When they asked me to leave to go to It’s Already Noon, I didn’t see it clearly. It was like leaving my son home alone while I looked after someone else’s child.
Q The days they subjected him to, with two magazine shipments a day, were marathons.
R. I owe it to my network and my production company. But splicing Ana Rosa’s program with “It’s Midday” was like driving at 50 mph for four hours and then doing a final stretch at 125 mph just when I was at my most tired. It was a tough season for me.
Q Did it bother you?
R. It bothers me because they told me it took its toll on the viewer; They perceived me as more tense and distant. I don’t like not being up to my job. I know the reasons, I have reset and am starting a new phase.
It’s the most exciting season of the last decade. In all bands and genres.
Q Let’s see, the political part is almost completely omitted.
R. I confess that I feel a little orphaned, but also a little relieved. Politics on TV compromises you a lot and doesn’t have the impact you imagine. The morning viewer is saturated after so many election calls. But that’s the bull Ana Terradillos has to deal with in “The Critical Look”…
Q There’s a lot of competition in general television this season.
R. It’s the most exciting season of the last decade. In all bands and genres. The winner is the viewer. There are people in this profession who forget that we work for those at home. He drops his thing and leaves.
Q You have the opportunity to re-engage the viewer who has switched to streaming.
R. My great hope is that the young people can recover. My son watches YouTube and the things he sees… We make idiots of them. This can happen with television too, but it is our responsibility to make them realize that the world around them is not easy to consume. That everything has a certain depth effect so that they can flee from hoaxes and fake news.
Joaquín Prat, presenter of “Let’s see”, heir to the “Ana Rosa program”. Santi Burgos
Q But the screen has continued to evolve. From his father’s evening galas with Laura Valenzuela, which were glamorous and watching each other on American television, he moved on to more narrow formulas.
R. I’m a big fan of swearing, but elegance should never be neglected on television. Ana Rosa taught me that. At certain moments, elegance, education and knowledge of life have been lost.
Q So will Ana Rosa regain her elegance on Telecinco afternoons?
R. Was it lost? (laughs). I think it will mark a turning point. Sálvame is television history because of its innovations, but… I’m getting wet: theatrical performances are like buying a yellow car. He loves it, but two days later he’s sick of it. If you bought a gray one it would last longer.
Q Do you think about your father a lot?
R. I think he would be proud of me. But I wonder what he would tell me if I could have called him five minutes before leaving for the set of Let’s See.
QAnd what would I say to him?
R. He would tell me, “Don’t cheat. There are no characters on television. People buy you as you are. In order for people to love you, you must first love people.” Then he said to me, “How is my grandson? If you don’t come to the paella dinner on Sunday, I’ll cut some eggs for you. He spoke like that. There was a civil war…
My great hope is that the young people can recover. My son watches YouTube and the things he sees… We make idiots of them.
Q It taught him to share a part of his private life with the viewer.
R. I remember when he was doing radio we would go to Gran Vía and he would sign autographs for hours. With personal dedication. I thought, as my son thinks now, that they were stealing my time with my father. He taught me that the reciprocation of that affection is reflected in the salary.
Q You also started your career in radio.
R. It gave me humility. It taught me that drinking a coffee is just as valuable as standing in front of the microphone. I once spent an entire early morning writing a report and it didn’t show up on the air. I got angry because he was a child and Iñaki Gabilondo belittled me. Again he allowed me to interview my father ten years after his death, with excerpts from old interviews.
Q You say that Gabilondo helped you, but José María García didn’t.
R. It’s not that he didn’t help me… He told me to call him but he never answered. I would be busy. People will say I’m a plugin. He screwed us over. When I have my father at work, he passed away and I don’t have anyone to help me… Well, I knock on a lot of doors. My father always told me to do radio. I started at SER as an intern and stayed there. I hope to come back one day. TV came to me, I wasn’t looking for it.
Q Speaking of myths: How do you remember María Teresa Campos?
R. During my father’s illness, he was always close to my family. That leaves its mark when, at the age of 20, you are not yet used to dealing with death. It was a journalistic genre in itself. It doesn’t seem fair to me that we remember the Teresa of the last stage, which distorts the great woman and professional that she was.
Q Does this negative phase also include the reality show “Las Campos” on Telecinco?
A: Yes.
You can watch EL PAÍS TELEVISIÓN in Twitter or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
Get the TV newsletter
All the latest news from broadcasters and platforms, with interviews, news and analyses, as well as recommendations and reviews from our journalists
LOG IN