Elegant, playful, warm, and charming, Bernard Montiel, who enjoys teasing his female guests, is like fine wine, he gets better with age.
The key host, who embodies glamour all by himself, was our first encounter at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival yesterday. A meeting, or rather, we should say a great lesson on “How to conduct an interview?” for Nice-Première, where humor was king not far from the rock.
Nice-Premiere: First, I thank you for accepting our invitation.
Bernard Montiel: Yes, but I was forced to come (laughs). Just kidding! Watch out for the camera, stand in front of it. These young girls starting out, you have to tell them everything, even if they are cute (laughs).
N-P: This year, you are the master of ceremonies for the three biggest nights of the Monte-Carlo television festival?
B.M.: I’ve really slept my way to the top as a master of ceremonies (laughs)… so, yes, I hosted the opening of this festival on Monday evening with Linda Lacoste, who is magnificent. It was very nice. I will also present the evening for TF1 with “The Zodiac Master” on Thursday, and all the stars from TF1. I will also present the closing ceremony.
N-P: Are you hosting a new show on TMC?
B.M.: Yes, for three years now, I’ve been working at TMC, a channel I really love. Indeed, I have a show called “The TMC Club” which I started in Cannes and in which I’ve hosted all the movie stars, and now I enjoy having television personalities on the show, and it’s going very well.
N-P: In “The Club TMC”, you host a guest in an intimate setting chosen by the person. If roles were reversed, in what setting would you like to be interviewed?
B.M.: At my home in Pyla-Sur-Mer. I like being at peace. The Bay of Arcachon is beautiful, and I would like to be interviewed there. Barely awake, do the interview, and then I can go back to sleep (laughs).
N-P: “Between Two”, “48 Hours With…” and today “The Club TMC” all have one thing in common: celebrities. What attracts you to the realm of stars?
B.M.: The glamour, because I find that Monaco is a glamorous principality. Everything is beautiful, sophisticated, charming. It’s somewhat associated with the lives of stars. At least, that’s the perception. The stars, you know, sometimes they eat spaghetti alone at home in a bathrobe or in old jogging pants. Glamour… Nice is beautiful too, you know. I adore Nice. I participated in the ‘Pièces Jaunes’ operation with Bernadette Chirac.
N-P: Oh really? I didn’t see you there.
B.M.: Really? Yet I was the only one you could see (laughs)
N-P: I was backstage.
B.M.: And there you go, it was raining and you hid (laughs)
N-P: What do stars think of you?
B.M.: Ah, I don’t know, you’d have to ask them. Often, people ask me why I am friends with so many stars, it’s simply because I’ve never betrayed them, and the most important thing with stars is to earn their trust.
N-P: One quality that a host must have?
B.M.: They must feel comfortable and at ease on a TV set so that they can speak freely. You don’t have to attack them.
N-P: Why did you choose to become a TV host?
B.M.: Because I didn’t know what to do in life (laughs), just kidding. I’ve had various jobs before: I managed a cinema complex in Bordeaux, I was a court bailiff. Then, I really wanted to do this job because I am “crazy” about cinema and it’s a way for me to talk about it, I love it. I admit, I like to think that I know quite a bit about cinema.
N-P: Speaking of cinema, we saw you in Camping, any other cinematic ideas?
B.M.: It’s others who have ideas. You’re like an actor at the mercy of demand. Camping was filmed at my place, in Pyla-Sur-Mer. Franck Dubosc, who is a friend, told me: “Bernard, you absolutely have to act in the movie, we’ll find a funny role for you.” So I played the role of Bernard Montiel, which isn’t really great. (Smiles) I’m the one who hands out the prize to Miss Camping played by Frédéric Bell. I’m very proud. Go see this movie. Over 5 million of you have already seen it. It’s very funny and very nice.
N-P: Do you have a lot of fun?
B.M.: Yes, I have fun. You have to have fun in life. It’s too tough. There are too many serious things.
N-P: Are you a star?
B.M.: No, no, no…
N-P: Earlier, I saw a crowd around you, the public reaches out to you.
B.M.: They mistook me for Michel Drucker (laughs) They were wrong.
N-P: “48 Hours with… Bernard Montiel”, what would that be like?
B.M.: Jet skiing on the water. At lunch, fresh fish, visiting the oyster farmers in my region, organizing a big dinner at my place because I love it, by candlelight, and making a big couscous. I’m very sociable. I’m a man of the south. Like you. Although you are a woman (smiles). I have a great sense of friendship, I hope so anyway. Often, people ask me what quality I have, the only one I recognize is loyalty in friendship, not in love, not at all in love. It’s a drama for others.
N-P: Any projects for the fall?
B.M.: I continue on TMC. On November 3rd, I’m organizing a very big charity evening in Morocco. I work with Morocco because it’s a country that deeply touches me. I work a lot also with Princess Stéphanie. I did her interview on TMC. I help her association. There’s a big gala at the beginning of October in Avignon with lots of artists to raise funds. This summer, I am also next to the Princess to bring in money. She made a record. I help her a lot in my own way. You shouldn’t think we only have fun, we also think of others, we visit sick kids at the Timone in Marseille or in Nice or just about everywhere. We do a lot of things that we don’t often talk about but which are important to us.
N-P: You don’t shout it from the rooftops?
B.M.: No, no and when we go with the Princess, we don’t bring the photographer, it changes everything.
N-P: A message to the viewers of Nice-Première for the summer?
B.M.: Be happy. Have fun because summer is great. Protect yourself, because it’s the summer when you’re more likely to undress, more ready for easy adventures. Protect yourself because AIDS is still there. Be kind. Don’t hurt those around you. I try to do that anyway. We always think that Montiel, when you see him in photos in magazines, seems very light, but if you know me well, there’s more to me than that.
N-P: So, who is Bernard Montiel?
B.M.: He’s a guy who loves others, who doesn’t like himself much. I’m not interested in me, but in others, I like that. I’m happy only when I’m helping someone; it’s strange but that’s how it is. I don’t know how to receive gifts but I know how to give them.
N-P: And to finish, “Premier or Première”, who or what do you think of?
B.M.: My first love.
Monte-Carlo Television Festival website: https://www.tvfestival.com/
