Jorge Javier Vazquez has gone from hearing drums of dismissal in Mediaset to having three programs on Telecinco, in addition to Survivors. He has been commissioned Big Brother, There is one thing I want to tell you y Jorge’s diarya talk show, like the one Patricia Gaztañaga did on Antena 3, which will be broadcast next Monday (15.45). “I am the example of what television is like,” she says. Because in this medium, which is often cruel, everything starts suddenly and ends abruptly.
Television also has some surprises, like his return to the afternoons, the same slot he occupied for 14 years and in which it seemed we would never see him again after the sudden closure of Save me. Back to a daily programme, back to live broadcasts and back to the tyranny of the audiences that ring every day at 08.00. “Tuesday morning the 30th is going to be a horror: what do I do, how do I look at it, who tells me…”, he fears about waking up to a number in the form of a share that can brighten his day or hit him like a hammer for the rest of the day. “Then you develop absurd superstitions: if the phone rings a lot, if it doesn’t ring, it depends on the time it rings… but the best thing is to face it.”
Can’t you put it into perspective at this point?
The first day is always important, and in summer, prime time is also moved to the afternoon. It is also true that daily programmes are being made little by little and I am reassured that it is a long-term project. But waking up to a good piece of news makes you happy.
If a program didn’t work, do you take it personally?
I recently saw a video of Lina Morgan saying: ‘You lead a successful life and suddenly that stops happening and you realise that it wasn’t that bad’. And it’s true, because it’s happened to me. When Cuentos chinos ended I felt sorry for the team, even though I knew they were going to relocate quickly. Mediaset brought me together to tell me, it was October, and they told me that I was going to present Supervivientes. And I thought: ‘I’m going to be without work and getting paid until Supervivientes! I’ve never been like this in my fucking life!’ (laughs). I went to Brazil and then to Colombia while they were demonstrating in Ferraz because Spain was breaking up. If it happens to me when I’m 30, maybe I’ll take it differently.
You’ve said that you’re at your best because you don’t need to prove anything to anyone. How does that idea coexist with that expectation from the audience?
This job has to be enjoyable and you no longer have the fears or insecurities you had before. But it is true that we are all curious to know what is going to happen. We know what programme we want to do and then we have to see if the audience is there or not.
There are those who do not understand why you attribute this good professional moment to a time when Sálvame is no longer on.
For me, Sálvame has been the programme that made me believe in being a presenter. It has made me grow, investigate, explore… it has given me a lot professionally and personally. I am what I am fundamentally thanks to Sálvame – and other programmes too – because no one gives you the training of a newspaper. People romanticise programmes, but Sálvame was a very tough programme.
Did you not think you were at your best when you were doing Sálvame?
The thing is that Sálvame didn’t allow us to think because we lived at such a frenetic pace that we couldn’t understand what was happening. I spent 15 years without thinking, which was very comfortable, because living without thinking is wonderful. We went there, we worked, we were doing well…
Do you feel that you enjoyed that stage?
Yes, it was a real madness and I have experienced tremendous things. We have been there for almost 15 years, as if a child is born and becomes a teenager. And four hours a day. I have been there from 4:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. It was a brutal time and the programme was very complicated, but it taught us all a lot. In my head I have to say that I have fulfilled my duty to Sálvame. Sálvame gave me a lot and I have given it a lot. It was a wonderful time.
Do you see your friends on Canal Quickie?
No, I see the things that come out on the networks.
Do you like it?
It’s not that I like it or not… it’s that they are my family. I’m not just another spectator. I’ve been with Belén Esteban or María Patiño more than with my mother.
When an important issue arises, there is an audience that always imagines how Sálvame would approach it…
Well, at this point in my life, I feel at peace because I don’t make programs tied to current events. The public is interested in the big topics, like Escassi, but there were days when nothing happened, weeks when nothing happened and months when nothing happened. And I know how much the directors suffered, but the program went ahead thanks to the talent of the team. Now I feel very calm when Thursdays come and I don’t hear that ‘We don’t have a guest for the Deluxe’ (Laughs). Now we have a schedule made a month in advance.
The end of Sálvame marks a change of model at Mediaset, but the programmes that work are the same as before. You represent that old system and now you return to the new Mediaset. Has anything changed in your way of working?
I am who I am and I will continue to be the same. When there is a change, the process of searching is inevitable, as is the process of mourning. Now it is time to build and test. And a chain has to explore.
Do you think that the public still demands the same content, like Supervivientes?
It’s a brutal format and what I like about it is that they continue to bet on formats with budgets. A television with resources is always pleasant for the viewer.
A year ago it was said that Mediaset was not counting on you and now you have four programmes. Did you imagine that you would be in this situation again?
I am the example of what television is. Anyone who wants to know what television is like should look at me. On television, when the moment comes, everything suddenly disappears.
Your contract with Mediaset ends next year. Would you like to renew it?
I’ve been in this house for 22 years and I can’t find a better place to be. And since I’ve been here I’ve never had much interest in moving.
You’re going to do the same programme that Patricia Gaztañaga used to present, with whom you have a good relationship. Have you talked?
Yes, we know each other and we have spoken. She started El Diario on Antena 3 the same day I debuted as a presenter on Rumore Rumore with Francine Gálvez. She was behind us and always reminds me that she made 25%.
Now, the person who will go after you is Ana Rosa. Have you spoken to her?
We haven’t talked yet, we met at the Publiespaña party [hace unas semanas]and from September we will go before her [ahora está de vacaciones].
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