Andrei Malakhov explained the reasons for his departure from the country's main television channel. The former presenter of Channel One said that he was tired of “reading from a piece of paper” and had long since grown up to producing his own show.
Andrey Malakhov. Photo: Channel One website
According to him, he is tired of being a “lead in the ear” and has long had something to say to the audience without prompting.
"It's like family life“At first there was love, then it grew into a habit, and at some point it was a marriage of convenience,” he said frankly in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper.
Therefore, the TV presenter wanted to take the initiative into his own hands. “I want to grow, to become a producer, a person who makes decisions, including determining what my program should be about, and not giving up my whole life and looking like a puppy into the eyes of people changing during this time. The TV season is over, I decided “that you need to close this door and try yourself in a new capacity in a new place,” he continued.
At the same time, Malakhov did not comment on the rumors that the main reason for his departure was a conflict with producer Natalya Nikonova. She came up with “Let Them Talk,” and then went to VGTRK for 9 years and returned to “First” only this year.
“I have always believed that you need to be consistent in love and dislike. It’s unusual for me to change my set of beliefs as if by magic. I’ll end the story here,” he said.
The presenter assured that the separation from “First” did not in any way affect his relationship with its leader Konstantin Ernst. Like, he realized that Andrey was in power life circumstances(the presenter’s first child will be born in November), will not be able to devote much time to the project and let him go in peace.
However, Malakhov did not hide the fact that he sent the application by Russian Post, and sent his representative to negotiate with Ernst about extending his contract.
The TV presenter entered into a new cooperation agreement with the Rossiya TV channel. He will head “Live Broadcast”, which was previously managed by Boris Korchevnikov.
By the way, the latter, in a conversation with Komsomolskaya Pravda, said that the era of his “Live broadcast” was over. “The program that will be released in its place will be different. But it will retain everything that made Live Broadcast successful and loved by viewers,” he noted.
Malakhov himself confirmed that part of the “Let Them Talk” team moved with him to the second channel in the country. Thus, new broadcasts will be produced together with Alexander Mitroshenkov, who previously also did “The Big Wash.” But even here, the final word will remain with Malakhov.
“My wife calls me a boss baby. It’s clear that television is a team story, but the producer has the final say,” he concluded.
With his former colleagues, the TV presenter has already published open letter.
(45) is inevitably associated throughout the country with the scandalous program “Let Them Talk” - together with the studio, he finds out where the Rusfond money went, who is to blame for the rape (18) and (34) on a lie detector test. But recently it became known that “Let Them Talk” may be left without a star presenter. According to rumors, after 25 years of work (12 of them at “Let Them Talk”), Andrei decided to leave Channel One. Let's figure out what happened!
It all started with a Twitter post by Current Time correspondent Yegor Maksimov. “Wow, they say VGTRK bought Malakhov. in any case, his studio in Ostankino was occupied by Shepelev with new transmission(this is a fact),” the journalist wrote. And a little later he joined editor-in-chief R-Sport agency Vasily Konov: “This is a fact and the main transfer sensation of the television off-season. There’s a lot of talk about this in TV circles.”
And so, the news was picked up by leading news agencies. For example, RBC reported that the TV presenter did not work well with the new producer of “Let Them Talk,” whom First General Director Konstantin Ernst (56) appointed to raise the show’s ratings. Andrey demanded the return of the previous producer, he was refused, and he decided to move to another channel. According to RBC, from the fall Andrei Malakhov will work on the Rossiya 1 channel (VGTRK holding company) in the Live Broadcast program (now hosted by Boris Korchevnikov (35), but he plans to focus on the position general director channel "Spas"). Part of the team will also follow Andrei, so Channel One, if the information is confirmed, will have to conduct a rather large casting.
In any case, neither the leadership of the First nor Andrei Malakhov has yet commented on the rumors, and VGTRK refers to the vacation of the entire management team (we know nothing - we have heard nothing). Andrei himself, by the way, shared in 2014 that he had no idea what would force him to leave Channel One. He openly: “Sometimes during the recording of another program where a father raped his daughter or where ungrateful children, a week after the death of their mother, furiously divide the inheritance, you want to get up and leave. But the thought always stops me - we still help. The DNA tests that are carried out for broadcast are real. After many transfers, criminal cases were opened or reopened and the perpetrators went to prison. We are doing a good deed."
The next topic for discussion on the talk show “Let Them Talk” a couple of weeks ago was Andrei Malakhov himself. Which is not surprising. IN lately that's all they talk about: the presenter wrote a letter of resignation and left Channel One, will soon appear on Rossiya 1, is going on maternity leave. I felt somehow worried about Andrey.
“I am still alive,” Malakhov met me on the threshold of his own apartment.
Telegrams with this phrase (“I’m still alive” translated into Russian) were sent to his friends by the Japanese conceptual artist On Kawara. Andrei purchased one of them at an auction and gave it to his wife Natasha. The telegram is dated: the day and year of her birth.
Andrey in an apartment on Ostozhenka with the work of Oleg Dou in the background. On the right is the lead sculpture “Olga”, Rita Jordens. Above is a themed poster by Viktor Govorkov
– Andrey, your open letter about leaving Channel One was published in StarHit magazine. But I don’t even believe my eyes anymore. Tell me personally: are you really not coming back?
- Yes! You can take a lie detector test. 25 years of my life devoted to Channel One are over, and I am moving forward.
– Still, you have: ratings, fame, money... What was missing?
- Everything was enough. But at some point a crisis came.
– The same one, middle-aged?
- To a mild degree. Yes, I turned 45 in January. And then before the birthday there was a crisis of the genre in absolutely everything. Starting with programs that began to seem secondary: this was already in The Simpsons, and ending with complete dissatisfaction with their position. I have always been submissive. A human soldier following orders. And I wanted independence. I looked at my colleagues: they became producers of their programs and began to make decisions themselves. And suddenly the understanding came: life goes on, and you need to grow, get out of the tight confines.
Capricorns are like that. They climb, they try, and then they send everyone off and go climb somewhere else.
– In addition to understanding, you also need to find the strength within yourself to move away from your comfort zone?
– Sometimes there is no other option. Some karmic stories were added to the understanding. On April 25 at 18:45 they called me and told me that we were changing the studio and had to leave Ostankino. And Ostankino is my second home. It has its own aura and energy. Our team also never changed the studio. This was a place of power. We came in and understood what needed to be done. I was left without a home and a familiar atmosphere. And when I saw a new room a thousand meters away from our backstage two hundred, I realized that this was probably the point. I simply can’t handle a studio of this size.
- This is deceit, of course.
- Maybe. But when you have the end of the season, a new location for filming, you physically cannot do anything wrong, you begin to engage in soul-searching, unnecessary self-destruction. You think that you and the presenter are so-so, and nothing works out, and your time is up... And then they sent me a video of how the “Let Them Talk” studio was being dismantled. I don’t know what to compare what I felt with. Probably, if they brought me to the morgue and showed how they dissect a person close to you... And just like that - drop by drop - they burned out everything that was dear, to which I was mentally attached. Then you realize that you have been building something for so many years and cannot afford to disappear like that. You understand that it has arrived new stage. You must close this door.
Antenna editor-in-chief Elena Krasnikova and StarHit editor-in-chief Andrey Malakhov
- With what force?
- Without slamming in any way. Namely, close it with complete gratitude in your soul. With respect and great warmth to the people with whom I worked. This is the most important thing - to learn to be grateful. When you give warmth and kindness to people, it always comes back in one form or another. This is my main internal motto – and in my work as well. I honestly brought the season to the end. And - again a coincidence - they called me from the Russia 1 channel and offered me to become the producer of my own program. A person who will decide for himself what to do, how to conduct and what topics to cover.
- That's all? So I decided, spat and went?
– Natasha recently read a book about Capricorns. She said that people of this sign are exactly like this: they crawl and crawl for a long time, climb, try, break their nails, and then suddenly they send everyone off and go climb to another place.
Although, of course, it would be nice to retire with one entry in your employment record. Even now I was one of the dinosaurs left on the First.
– Leonid Arkadyevich Yakubovich feels good in the role of a dinosaur.
- He's special. Leonid Arkadyevich writes programs on Sundays, when there is no one in the television center. Starts at 8 am, works through eight programs. If there is a delay of more than 15 minutes, he gets up and leaves. Thus, he visits the empty Ostankino once every two months and the rest of the time he does not see or hear anyone. And then, he doesn’t fight for themes, doesn’t catch heroes...
-...they themselves come with jars and pies...
- That's it, we have different stories A little.
There is work on the wall British artist Juliana Opie
“I remember the story about how you quit Good Morning.” And caring colleagues collected your things in boxes and put them in front of the door. Since then I haven’t brought anything extra to work. So now there are no boxes at all?
– All the TEFI figurines remain in Ostankino. And over there, in the next room, there are two boxes. But I took them out myself so that they wouldn’t expose me.
-Can I have a look? It’s just interesting what a person accumulates over 25 years of work.
“Let’s go...” Andrey opens the box and shows what’s inside. – Funny New Year cards. People just send them knowing that I collect themed stamps redeemed on December 31st, for example.
Book by Irina Ponarovskaya. I want to do an interview with her, she hasn’t talked about herself for many years. And thus I visualize the desire.
ABOUT! An old cassette from “The Jerry Springer Show” (the American “grandfather” of “Let Them Talk”). It was wildly popular when I was studying in America. Prayer book. Device for measuring pressure.
Everything acquired through backbreaking labor: the contents of a box from Ostankino
- Such a daddy of vanity.
- Yes, yes. Show it to your children and grandchildren.
What else? The photographs were clearly taken at work. Magazine published during the premiere of “The Big Wash”, 2001. And look at the headline: “Andrei Malakhov is becoming more serious.” And finally it became, apparently.
Photo with Zykina, CDs with songs by Katya Semenova. Medal for covering the Olympics. A set of miniature books with Vysotsky, gift. And a refreshing spray for the face. Here.
- It’s kind of sad...
- So, what... In the next world, this won’t be needed either.
– No, no, no, stop, we’re talking about a new life. Your departure is news number one. And there are a lot of rumors on the Internet. Can you comment to close this topic once and for all?
– You are repeating the path of Maxim Galkin, who unsuccessfully went to “Russia”... This is not my statement. People are exaggerating.
- Hm. The big debate here is, you know, how unfortunate. Maxim Galkin went so far as to build himself a huge castle in Gryazi, give birth to children in his free time from broadcasting, educate himself, and enjoy life. He hosted the top-rated “Dancing with the Stars” for six years. And he returned in the prime of his life.
And let me remind you: management learned about Maxim Galkin’s departure from his own press conference in live. I, as a team member, gave two months’ notice about leaving. In his farewell letter he even wrote that part of Channel One’s DNA flows in my blood...
It’s a big debate, do you know how unsuccessfully Maxim Galkin went to “Russia”
- In a letter?
- Yes, I wanted to explain myself this way. When you say something, it may not always be heard. And the letter... You can re-read it.
– Rumor number two: the departure was provoked by Dmitry Shepelev, who was allegedly brought in to replace you.
- Well, no. I'm not a child and I know my worth.
– They started trying Dmitry Borisov as the host of “Let Them Talk”, who is now being shown on air.
– By that time, my application had been on the channel for a month. It is clear that you need to look for someone.
Read more on page 2.
– Are you going on maternity leave?!
– Natasha will soon become a mother. And I actually had the idea of taking a little vacation. But in the schedule in which I worked for the last two months, I would not have had time to meet my wife from the maternity hospital.
– That is, the reason for leaving is, after all, a conflict with the new producer of “Let Them Talk” Natalya Nikonova.
- Can I remain silent...
– Andrey, what will the program you are producing be like? And I hope you're not planning on sitting behind the scenes!
– Title “Andrey Malakhov. Live broadcast." And this is the same Andrei Malakhov in the frame that everyone is used to, just with more freedom actions, with a greater understanding of what the viewer needs.
In the background: Nadya Leger’s carpet from the collection of the author of “Wait for Me” Konstantin Simonov
– Do you think the audience of “Let Them Talk” will leave behind you? Or will there be another? In general, who are you working for?
– Sometimes some programs are launched in such a way that even schoolchildren begin to discuss them primary classes. It is impossible to predict who will turn on the TV today or who will watch it on the Internet today. Everyone has set-top boxes, delayed viewing, now no one needs to rush to a certain time so as not to miss something important. But what will always work is word of mouth: have you seen it? did you hear? what do you think? I don’t believe it when people say that they haven’t heard anything about Dana Borisova or Diana Shurygina. We heard. And they know for sure that they heard it from me. It is important to feel the mood that will hook a person right now.
I don’t believe it when people say that they haven’t heard anything about Diana Shurygina or Dana Borisova. We heard. From me
– Can you give an example of which of your colleagues feels this?
Lena Letuchaya felt the time (the presenter, by the way, was the editor of the “Let Them Talk”) program. Today she is a bigger star than many leading national channels. Because the content that Lena offered hit the nerves and mood of the audience. After all, everyone walks around the cafe. And many are unhappy with the quality of food or service. So, the fight for consumer rights made her name a brand. By analogy with contemporary art This is a picture that should hook you at a certain moment. Then you can grow out of it. But if the work doesn’t immediately make you think, it means it’s not your art or the artist is not able to touch on anything.
– What touches you in paintings? Tell.
Let's say I have a work by Serge Golovach. You look and think that this is a photo from the late 20s. Some kind of parade. And for some reason Mayakovsky is in the foreground. But in fact it is May 1, 2006 in St. Petersburg. And from work you feel like nothing really changes around you. And people are the same. And even Mayakovsky is walking around St. Petersburg somewhere. It's about the idea. Sometimes the very name of the artist can touch you. You were amazed by some of his masterpieces at one time, but you cannot buy it. And you can afford a piece of what the master had a hand in.
– I saw Glazunov on the wall...
- Yes. I was 12 years old. We went to Ilya Glazunov's exhibition at Manege. It was pouring rain and there was a huge queue. And we are in it together with my Aunt Ira. She's wearing a very beautiful soft blue jacket and a hat... She just returned from France. And me! I'm 12 years old and I'm in love with her. And so we go inside and see this “Russian beauty”. I was stunned... And those drawings on the wall that you saw, they take me back to childhood. Everything in them is covered with snow, like in Apatity. The old woman is wandering. And I see my mother, she is going to the temple...
– Which construction did you invest in?
“My dad started the construction. Then, Kingdom of Heaven, he was gone. It was necessary to continue my father's work. Two years ago we made a beautiful road to the temple. Soon, if possible, we will erect a monument to Pushkin by Tsereteli in Apatity.
Under the poster of Valery Barykin, Soviet pin-up style. Right: Vladislav Mamyshev-Monroe as Marilyn. There is an art object on the windowsill: a bomb damaged by an explosion. Symbolizes what our planet will turn into in case of war
– Will the monument fit in the city?
- Yes. The work of Zurab Konstantinovich, like the “Let Them Talk” program, evokes different feelings. But I believe that over time his work will be perceived completely differently. So, in Apatity there is a library and a park named after Pushkin. And Alexander Sergeevich will sit there on the bench. Small. Anyone can sit next to him and take a photo. Let the monument become a new landmark of the city.
– Andrey, why don’t you transport the main attraction of Apatity – your mother – to Moscow?
– I dream about this and have offered all sorts of options. He doesn't want to. She continues to work in kindergarten, works there with children with low vision. Even now. There is a crisis, many have not left and continue to take their children to kindergarten. Mom organizes endless matinees there. I call and ask what you have today. And she: dandelion day, airborne forces day, watermelon day.
- But I don’t live here. Moved in with my wife. Here, on this sofa, I study French. The teacher comes twice a week at 9:30 am. I also use this apartment as a warehouse or dressing room so that Natasha’s things don’t become cluttered.
If someone comes, I give the keys to friends. It is convenient to organize parties here. We sat, drank, closed the door and went our separate ways. And then the cleaning lady came and cleaned everything up...
How are your family evenings going? What is Saturday evening with Andrei Malakhov like?
- Differently. Once every two months we visit our mother-in-law and father-in-law at the dacha. And such a mini-report takes place: how is everyone doing, how is the family living, an exchange of views on current issues. Or the two of us can go somewhere. The change of environment slightly expands the time, and it feels like there was not just one day off, but many, many days. Although we can stay at home and watch the series “House of Cards”, ordering food from a restaurant.
In the evenings we definitely drink tea. I never know when I’ll come home from work, so tea drinking is the moment when Natasha and I can talk about everything, discuss what’s worrying us, important point home society, creating a personal aura.
– How did Natasha react to your desire to change jobs?
“She said she would accept any decision.” But internally, of course, she understood: since I took responsibility for supporting the family, I know what I’m doing.
- Mmmm... Does your wife need to be supported?
- She's a girl! She needs to buy some clothes, jewelry, handbags, and cosmetics in the spring and fall. A man can be called a man when he is able to do beautiful things towards his beloved. Yes, Natasha works herself. She has a family that will always help her. But I am a husband. I have to take care of her. They write that our parents bought us an apartment. And this sounds a little funny in a situation where the whole country knows Malakhov, and Forbes reports that I earn millions. In general, it’s time to finally earn these millions!
- So far for the godchildren. I was specifically looking for those same picture books from the USSR.
“Andrey Malakhov is the most important brick in the foundation of Channel One: his talk show under different names has been at the top of the ratings of the country’s most popular programs for decades. The presenter grew up on Channel One: when the channel was still called ORT, he came here as a beardless intern from the journalism department Moscow State University,” wrote the presenter’s colleagues from Komsomolskaya Pravda.
ON THE TOPIC
Other colleagues of Malakhov considered it possible to comment (albeit on condition of anonymity) about his departure to competitors. “They started talking in our crowd at the end of last week. Allegedly, Malakhov did not work well with the new producer Natalya Nikonova, who is actively promoting Dmitry Shepelev and his new show “Actually,” said the former editor of “Let Them Talk.”
“Yes, Andrei will not go anywhere. It is possible that he himself started the rumor about his departure in order to put pressure on Ernst: he is bargaining,” another interlocutor is sure.
“The real reason for Malakhov’s departure to VGTRK is that for several years he asked Ernst to allow him to produce his own programs. But Konstantin Lvovich sent him...” a third source shared information.
As they wrote, the news of Andrei Malakhov’s transfer from Channel One to VGTRK became the biggest news of the television off-season. VGTRK did not confirm the information about the presenter’s transfer to them, but did not deny it either. “Our entire management is on vacation, so this physically cannot happen in at the moment“, the company’s press service disowned the question.
With the kind permission of our colleagues, we are printing a fragment exclusive interview, which Andrei Malakhov gave to the portal Wday.ru. Now, even if you didn’t want to know why and where he was leaving Channel One, you will know. This is the time!
Andrey, are you really not coming back?
Yes! You can take a lie detector test. Twenty-five years of my life devoted to Channel One are over, and I’m moving forward.
Everything was enough. But at some point a crisis came.
The same one, middle aged?
To a mild degree. Yes, I turned forty-five in January. And then before the birthday there was a crisis of the genre in absolutely everything. Starting from the topics of the program that began to seem secondary (this already happened in “The Simpsons”) and ending with complete dissatisfaction with their position. I have always been submissive. A human soldier following orders. And I wanted independence. I looked at my colleagues - they became producers of their programs and began to make decisions themselves. And suddenly the understanding came: life goes on, you need to grow, get out of the tight confines.
In addition to understanding, you also need to find strength in yourself to move away from the “comfort zone”?
Sometimes there is no other option. Some karmic stories were added to the understanding. On April 25 at 18.45 they called me and told me that we were changing the studio and had to leave Ostankino. And Ostankino is my second home. It has its own aura and energy. Our team also never changed the studio. This was a place of power. We came in and understood what needed to be done.
I was left without a home and a familiar atmosphere. And when I saw a new room 1000 meters away from our behind-the-scenes two hundred, I realized that this was probably the point. I simply can’t handle a studio of this size.
This is deceit, of course.
Maybe. But when you have the end of the season, a new location for filming, you physically cannot do anything wrong, you begin to engage in soul-searching, unnecessary self-destruction. You think that you and the presenter are so-so, and nothing is working out, and your time is up...
And then they sent me a video of how the Let Them Talk studio was being dismantled. I don’t know what to compare what I felt with. Probably, if they brought me to the morgue and showed how they dissect a person close to you... And just like that, drop by drop, they burned out everything that was dear, to which I was mentally attached.
Then you realize that you have been building something for so many years and cannot afford to disappear like that. You understand that a new stage has begun. You must close this door.
With what force?
Without slamming in any way. Namely, close it with complete gratitude in your soul. With respect and great warmth to the people with whom I worked. This is the most important thing - learn to be grateful. When you give warmth and kindness to people, it always comes back in one form or another. This is my main internal motto. And at work as well.
I honestly brought the season to the end. And - again a coincidence - they called me from the Russia-1 channel and offered me to become the producer of my own program. A person who will decide for himself what to do, how to conduct and what topics to cover.
