“There was never any question of me replacing Nagui”, assures Cyril Féraud

“Honestly, telling him that he appeals to all generations is the best compliment we can give to an animator,” slips Cyril Féraud when, at the end of the interview, we suggest that, like the newspaper Tintin, he speaks to young people aged 7 to 77 … In recent years, the presenter has become a key figure in public service. On France 3, he is there every afternoon with the game Slam and, these coming Wednesdays, with the new season of The Treasure Map. Soon it will even pass a head in More beautiful life before putting on Cyril Gossbo’s costume again in Fort Boyard this summer on France 2.

For 20 minutes, Cyril Féraud looks back on his very busy news and insists: no, he is not going to succeed Nagui at the head of Everyone wants to take its place.

New issues of “The Treasure Map” are being released. You’ve been presenting the show since 2018, can’t you get enough of it?

When you are lucky enough to have this panorama unfolding before your eyes, for me in the helicopter and for viewers with the aerial images that are offered to them, it is impossible to get tired of it. We’ve turned twenty-four numbers since we relaunched the show. When I receive drawings of helicopters made by children between 5 and 10 years old, I am very proud, I tell myself that today I present a show that I watched when I was their age. And if watching the program with their parents and grandparents makes them want to visit France, to discover the beauty of our country, the bet is won.

You had also campaigned for the return of the show. She really meant a lot to you …

I told France 3 that I thought that The Treasure Map viewers missed and that in the imagination of many people, it was a kind of Proust madeleine. And above all, today, we have technologies that allow filming in ultra-high definition with cinema cameras, go pro … We have a more modern way of filming than fifteen years ago when the program s ‘is stopped.

Did the health crisis have a strong impact on the shooting?

On the air, there is absolutely nothing that changes, apart from the poles given to candidates to be able to speak with people in the street while keeping a regulatory distance. Outside of the camera, on the production side, it’s certain that everyone is masked. We also adapted some things. For example, we asked the tourist offices to be kind enough to wait for candidates outside. These are little tips. I also insist on the fact that the programs broadcast at this time were filmed at a time when the mask was not compulsory.

And do you still take so much pleasure in presenting “Slam”?

Tuesday, for example [cette interview a été réalisée mercredi], we made 16.2% of audience. The average for France 3 is 8.5%. We are in the eleventh season. Slam, it is a perpetual renewal. Every two months, new question typologies are entered. There is an atmosphere that is not found in other games. We have gimmicks, the maths teacher alert, the magic kiss… It started with a gag: when we had animal questions, the producer sent a mooing to the stage. It has become recurrent. Viewers have started to send cow cuddly toys that are piled up all year round on the set. For Christmas, they are offered to associations helping children with cancer. All this to tell you that Slam is a game, but also an atmosphere that I can’t get enough of. I keep laughing. I’ve been there before tired, given the pace I have, but never dragging my feet.

You denied being in the race to replace Nagui at the presentation of the game “Everyone wants to take their place” on France 2 …

It was never discussed. Everyone wants to take its place is simply produced by the same company as Slam, Effervescence. My name was advertised in the press by people who didn’t verify, who didn’t even call me to see if it was true. I find this game great but I think Laurence Boccolini will be perfect to present it.

So it is she who will succeed Nagui?

I understand in any case that she was testing this week. I think she will be perfect at the presentation. They’re probably testing other people, but I don’t have that info yet.

What is certain is that we will see you soon in “Plus belle la vie”. What will you do there?

We’re shooting next week. It will air on June 18, the day of Festive music, which is the great classical music bonus that I present every year, live from the Chorégies d’Orange. This will therefore be an opportunity to wink in one of the episodes. I will appear as myself, Cyril Féraud, and I will pass in the Mistral district before going to present the program that same evening at Orange.

Will you be back in the cast of the next season of “Fort Boyard” in Cyril Gossbo?

Yes ! Cyril Gossbo will be back. Fort Boyard, it’s the show that made me want to do TV. I started there as an intern when I was 17. Integrating the show as a character was symbolic. The character made me scream with laughter as the prod thought I was going to send the thing to their heads. He’s a character who is so self-deprecating compared to what I’ve been told – thing has blond locks, has blue eyes, has his teeth whitened… – that it was great to do it. make. I did not know, however, how the children, who are the first fans of Fort Boyard, were going to perceive it. Today, when we land with the helicopters of The Treasure Map, there are lots of children who want to take pictures and tell me about Cyril Gossbo. Frankly, this show has always been magical for me.