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Évelyne Leclercq, Beloved 'Tournez manège!' Host, Dies at 74

TF1 hailed the former speakerine as an emblematic figure of French television.

Overview

  • Her daughter, Céline Olive, announced to AFP that she died Tuesday in Grasse, surrounded by family, after a very long illness.
  • The lunchtime dating show Tournez manège!, which she co-hosted from 1985 to 1993, counted roughly 17,000 contestants and led to 42 marriages and 39 babies.
  • She started as an ORTF announcer in Nice in 1969 before joining the newly created TF1 in 1975, later co-hosting Intervilles and appearing on RTL's Les Grosses Têtes.
  • She publicly disclosed in 2019 that she was battling cancer of the lymphatic system.
  • TF1 praised her humor, benevolence and professionalism in an official tribute, calling her a "grande dame" who forged a close bond with viewers.