Reports of inappropriate behavior at VRT and allegations of aggression against Adriaan Van den Hoof: rejuvenation does not seem to be the only reason for leaving ‘Switch’

Rejuvenation and renewal, that seemed to be the motivation recently when the public broadcaster announced a changing of the guard at Switch† Adriaan Van den Hoof stops after seven seasons as presenter of the popular summer quiz, StuBru presenter Fien Germijns takes over. It is also part of a larger refresher that the VRT is currently carrying out. “It is a policy to bring more diversity to the screen. One that will become even more visible in the coming months.”

There is more going on behind the scenes. A few weeks ago, a few women went to the prevention service of the public broadcaster to report incidents involving Van den Hoof. At Panenka, the production house that Switch makes an anonymous letter about inappropriate behavior on his part. It would reportedly include physical aggression. At that time, the new season of the quiz was already in preparation, then with Van den Hoof as host.

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Private atmosphere

Sources at VRT say that the reports did indeed play a role in the decision to no longer use Van den Hoof as a presenter at Switch. But in a statement, the public broadcaster is careful not to explicitly talk about cause and effect. Similar complaints had previously been reported to the VRT. “It is true that the VRT has received a number of confidential and non-anonymous reports about Adriaan Van den Hoof. The VRT has received the reporters and has taken ample time to listen to their stories. This was done by a confidential adviser, who followed the internal procedure closely. It turned out to be private reports. We have therefore referred them to the right authorities, outside the VRT. And that letter also deals with incidents from the private sphere,” it sounds in a statement.

According to our information, the complaints to the VRT are in the same atmosphere as in the letter. The public broadcaster keeps it vague and says it has “expressed its concern and informed Adriaan Van den Hoof orally, so that he could resolve those private issues”. They further emphasize that there are no reports of candidates from Switch† Incidentally, Van den Hoof is not on the payroll of the VRT. “He works with us on a non-structural and independent basis. There was before Switch such ad hoc collaboration”, they say.

Four complaints

It is not the first time that there is commotion about Adriaan Van den Hoof. According to our information, there have been four police complaints against him in the relational sphere in the past, the last of which dates from the summer of 2020. These have all been investigated, but according to our information are no longer ongoing. There are no recent criminal complaints and there is no current judicial investigation against him. To be clear: he will not be prosecuted for those complaints. The exact content of those complaints is unknown.

The women involved we contacted always refer to “emotional abuse and physical violence”. They prefer not to go into too much detail. For them, it’s about painful stories that they don’t want to be publicized. However, according to sources, the stories are not black and white and there are also counter-complaints. This implies that certain facts are firmly denied by Van den Hoof. Complaints that all relate to the private sphere.

For our editors, neither Van den Hoof himself nor his manager were available for comment in recent days. He does give a short response to the VRT. “I was indeed informed by the VRT of their choice to go for a new presenter. But I have no reason to believe that anything other than their choice for renewal would be at play. No formal complaints have ever been lodged against me with the VRT or elsewhere. There is also no judicial investigation, I want to be clear about that. In addition, it has been agreed with the VRT to meet again after the summer to look at new projects. That doesn’t seem like a bad sign to me.”

(dvg, eadp, edb, bpr and phu)

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