It was a historic television moment this morning: after 33 (!) years, Jan de Hoop retired. The 67-year-old presenter sat behind the desk of the RTL Breakfast News for the very last time today. “Just take a deep breath, there I go for the very last time: Good morning”, De Hoop started.
The very last time
Many thousands of loyal viewers saw and heard him speak this morning. When William Huizinga had finished the weather forecast, it was the popular presenter’s turn for the last time. “The moment I knew was coming, I’m going to thank some people and try to keep it dry.”
That last one didn’t work. De Hoop was full, especially when he thanked his loyal fans. “I have received thousands of sweet messages in recent days, I am very grateful to you for that,” he said very emotionally.
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At that time, a tear rolled down the cheeks in many living rooms, many people write on social media. “Tears run down my cheeks here too, the end of an era”, says Lina, for example. And Mieke writes: “Tears also ran down my cheeks. That will take some getting used to without Jan’s fine energy in the morning.”
‘Great start to the day’
Inez Jonker-Steenvoort also did not keep it dry. “I will definitely miss him, the Breakfast News with Jan was a really wonderful start to the day. And it was great that his mugs always matched his clothes. But above all, that he had remained so ordinary, a real person who updated you, that was delicious every day.”
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Robin thought so too, she writes on Facebook. “Thank you Jan, we will miss your warm voice every morning. Because of you, my morning mood left every morning, regardless of the news that had occurred in the world.”
Make morning mood disappear
That De Hoop was not only able to make Robin’s morning mood disappear like snow in the sun is also apparent from the reactions of Riesie, Annelies and Rudy. They write: “Jan, thank you for being there all these years when I had a lot of trouble waking up”, “There are very few people who make the world a little more beautiful in the morning, but you are one of them !” and “John, the only man I can bear in the morning.”
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De Hoop has therefore gathered a huge number of fans in the past 33 years, for example, he has almost 250,000 followers on Twitter alone. Some of them have been watching from the very first hour, they said today. “You now feel like family,” Maartje wrote, for example. “Thank you for the nice, unique way of bringing news.” And Da Theijn Lin wrote: “I grew up with him. Every day before I cycled to school, this man with his distinctive voice raised me.”
Raised with Jan
Mark also says that he grew up with De Hoop: “‘For me there were always three certainties in life: the tax, death and Jan de Hoop presenting the Breakfast News.” And the now grown-up Natasja already looked at the presenter as a young girl. “Before I went to school, I looked at your grandparents’ news for a while and I still did. It was the link between then and now for me.”
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And Marianne did let us know this morning that De Hoop was not only viewed while consuming a cup of coffee and a sandwich. “After I gave birth, I said: ‘First watch the Breakfast news with Jan’. We are going to miss you!”
Inez, who looked at Jan for the last time with a tear down her cheek this morning, will also miss him. But, she also says: “Tomorrow I’ll just make another cup of tea in the morning, make another sandwich, and I’ll just put on the Breakfast News again. Although it will be a little different.”
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