The mourning periods have already begun for the Salut Bonjour team, which, as it should be remembered, will lose its captain, its “big brother”, in June 2024. Gino Chouinard has not left yet, he will be hosting the wee hours of TVA for another year and a half, but his colleagues are already sad to say goodbye to their helmsman.
Patrick Benoit, the show’s traffic columnist, spoke for the whole gang when he spoke to Showbizz.net about the current vibe behind the scenes of Salut Bonjour.
“We’re still in denial,” he admitted. “We were shocked. We had a little bit of pain, a little bit of anger… We are in denial. »
“To be honest it was a shock to everyone. We were really shaken. It’s really a family member that goes. He is the father, the big brother. Gino is so enveloping! It’s in his personality. We, when we meet in the morning, are like a family, and a family is a “safe space” [espace sécurisant, NDLR]. He told us that a year and a half ahead is time to get used to it and that the public needs to get used to it too. We don’t think about it every day, but sometimes we have little flashes. It’s certain that everything ends eventually, but knowing it is a bit of sadness,” Patrick captivated.
The latter’s name has been mentioned here and there among the suggestions for possible successors to Gino Chouinard. How does Patrick Benoit react to this appreciation? Would he like to take on the challenge of becoming the next driver of the Salut Bonjour grand train, continuing the lineage of Gino Chouinard, Benoit Gagnon and Guy Mongrain before him?
“I’ve been doing this job for 28 years and never had a career plan. I did a lot of radio. I had never intended to go to Salut Bonjour one day and I found myself there. I think there is so much talent in Quebec that could do the job! The pool is huge. Maybe there are some who wouldn’t want to get up too early! (Smile) It’s still a big challenge and signing the contract is part of the job,” the concerned headmaster thought out loud.
“I’ll be happy if my name comes out, but until then we’ll see. I’m a challenge type, which is very flattering, but we’re a long way from that. I don’t think about it at all,” said the man, who has raced L’Académie du Guide de l’auto for five seasons, as well as AIR-Volaria, on TVA Sports.
Here are some viewer predictions as to who will replace Gino Chouinard in fall 2024.
Great admirers of Cirque du Soleil, Patrick Benoit and his wife attended the premiere of Corteo at the Bell Center a few days ago. You can see a photo of it below. Back to the event here.
