Griet Op de Beeck is the new presenter of Zomergasten: 'I'm going to try to sit there as myself'

Yes, Griet Op de Beeck did a little dance in the living room when she heard that she would be presenting the TV program Zomergasten this year: "It feels like Sinterklaas times twenty-seven." The 51-year-old Flemish writer, known for bestsellers such as Vele hemels boven de zevende and Kom hier dat ik u kus , talks about her new job in her guest house in Baarn: " Zomergasten has such a track record - a program in which you can still really talk without it having to be over after one minute. I have deep admiration for the fact that this is still possible, it is more important than ever. And then there is that rich tradition of fantastic presenters who came before me. To be able to contribute to that is an honor."

The three-hour interview program has been around since 1988 and is built around the guests' favorite film and TV fragments. Zomergasten is recovering from a failed 38th season. Last year, presenter Theo Maassen had to step down after allegations of domestic violence. When the intended replacement Adriaan van Dis also failed to show up due to health reasons, broadcaster VPRO was faced with a problem. In the end, they asked six former presenters to each stand in for an episode. One of them, Margriet van der Linden, received the Sonja Barend Award for her substitution.

Op De Beeck first made a test broadcast at the VPRO with someone who had previously been Zomergast. "They had a practice guest - I'm not allowed to say who - who was far outside my sphere of interest. So I thought: that will never work out. But I found her very interesting. It was nice to notice that my deep curiosity about people, which I thought I had anyway, could stretch to this extreme."

No, she is not going to mirror herself on illustrious predecessors such as Adriaan van Dis (1999-2002) or Janine Abbring (2019-2022). "I am going to try to sit there as myself. That way I have the best chance of a real encounter between me and that guest." What she is looking forward to is that she can not only get to know the "personal worlds of special guests", "but also the worlds they live in, what they are passionate about, and the vision they have of the world from there."

This is her first job as a TV presenter. Not unique, Zomergasten was previously led by people without experience as a presenter, such as Joris Luyendijk (2006-2007) and Joost Zwagerman (2003-2004). Op de Beeck does have experience as a journalist. Before she turned to literature in 2013, she worked for the Flemish magazine Humo and the daily newspaper De Morgen . "For Humo , I also did interviews of two or three hours. But that is a big difference with TV interviews. Suppose I am particularly boring for the next twenty minutes, then you as a writing interviewer can decide: let me talk, I will cut it out later." That is not possible on television: "Then you have to keep an eye on the clock and talk from fragment to fragment."

Writer in the dark

Does it help to be a writer? “Yes, I think writers are always looking for what drives people and how far shadows from their past reach. It’s a nice position to be of service to the guest. I’m present with my own curiosities and ideas, but it’s about the guest. And the more different that is from who I am, the more interesting it becomes.”

Does she like to start the conversation with an open mind or does she prefer to work from a scenario? “I like to start the meeting well prepared. That way I hopefully know in advance what I want to know and what the relevance is of the fragments we show. But from that preparation I am open to surprises. If the guest comes with a ready-made story, I will try to create side roads.” In this case, preparation means that she receives a “DM” for each guest (“That is the Thick Folder with all the documentation”) and that she watches all the films and programs from which the fragments are picked.

Becoming a therapist yourself

Three years ago, Op de Beeck made a remarkable career switch: she became a therapist . Does this new profession provide a good basis for the interviews in Zomergasten ? “Maybe I see more quickly what is interesting to explore in more depth. And that I can more quickly entice people to look at things with a different lens. But an interview is something different from a session. Zomergasten is not intended to be only about dark inner turmoil. The viewer also wants to learn something and hear a surprising vision of the world. Zomergasten is an excellent place where guests can explain their ideas in peace.”

Why did she become a therapist? “Well, I could have written Griet Op de Beeck’s eighth novel. But I wanted to take a step that would allow me to be of more significance to people. Of course, I sometimes heard readers say: ‘That book touched me deeply’ or ‘That book made me want to talk to my father.’ But that’s different from actually putting people on the right track. That really is a mission of mine.”

Following her third novel Het beste wat we hebben (The Best We Have), she told the talk show De Wereld Draait Door in 2017 that she had been abused by her father as a small child. This discovery was the beginning of a long search for redemption. Op de Beeck had previously had great success as a writer, but she had lived in deep darkness for as long as she could remember. "I sat there looking at my own success in amazement. I could never think for a moment: well, apparently I did something right. I found it strange that people wanted to read my books in large numbers. I thought: they are nice to me, but that is because they do not know who I really am."

When Op de Beeck was still in the dark, she herself was a guest on Zomergasten , in 2016 with presenter Thomas Erdbrink. "I couldn't believe that I was allowed to come then. That someone wanted to talk to me for three hours out of genuine interest." At that time, she didn't yet know what was wrong with her. How did she experience that evening? "I don't remember exactly what I said. But I was honest about the fact that I certainly didn't find it a picnic to be here. However, I have always had a kind of perseverance, a kind of eagerness in me. I always wanted to live life to the fullest. And I kept looking for ways in which that might be possible. And that was also in that evening. I think I was sincere. But I was too afraid of that pitch-black darkness myself, I couldn't share that with a large audience yet. Partly because I wanted to be nice to people and didn't want to do that to them."

Saved

Thanks to sessions with IFS therapists, Op de Beeck found salvation. She recorded her search and what the method entails in Het wordt beter . IFS (Internal Families Systems) assumes that people are made up of a collection of wounded and protective parts (personalities) and investigates how the core (the Self) can better connect with those parts. IFS is not recognized by official psychology but has pulled Op de Beeck out of her all-encompassing trauma.

She says: "In one important session, something really shifted in me, which allowed me to get rid of my suicidality and my eating disorder in one fell swoop. When I wake up now, I'm looking forward to the day and I find myself a pleasant person to be with. There is a kind of deep peace that cannot be disturbed so easily. I didn't know that existed. If you've experienced that, you don't want to keep it to yourself, it has to flow through to others." Incidentally, Op den Beeck does not want to give the impression that IFS is a "quick fix" "But it is a beautiful form that has given me and many others a different life."

When Op de Beeck opened her own therapy practice, she received more than two thousand registrations. “That’s enough patients to last long after my death. I especially want to introduce as many people as possible to IFS by explaining the method in groups. For example, through introductory weeks. IFS is not a storytelling hour, you know, where I listen to your life story and tell you how to live. Not that I’m there for nothing, but in the end you have to do it yourself. Taking back autonomy is an important theme for trauma patients.”

Yes, she knows that it is “a national sport” to kick the presenter of Zomergasten . How will she deal with that later? “I like to listen to criticism from the editors or from friends, but I am not going to google myself, I never have. When Herman Brusselmans used to write in a column that I had a moustache, I would study my upper lip in front of the mirror. Big ass, big breasts, small breasts – I have had it all in Herman’s columns. But these days I can handle it much better. I am a different person now, I no longer have to prove my right to exist. I am so happy...”

Zomergasten (VPRO) will be on air from Sunday 27 July. NPO2, 20:15. The broadcaster will announce this year's guests later.