Former official joker of Jean-Pierre Pernaut on the 1 p.m. news of TF1 for more than 20 years, Jacques Legros received calls from the mother of his colleague, as he revealed on Monday September 26, 2022 in TV Grandes Chaînes.
Indispensable figure of TF1 for several decades now, Jacques Legros occupies the position of official joker of the JT of 1 p.m. TF1, for nearly 25 years. While he always replaced Jean-Pierre Pernaut on the antenna of the first channel during his holidays, the presenter has retained the same functions since Marie-Sophie Lacarrau took the lead in the midday edition on TF1. Although he only presents the 1 p.m. news very sporadically in normal times, it has already happened in the past that Jacques Legros takes the place of Jean-Pierre Pernaut and Marie-Sophie Lacarrau for a long time.
For instance, the host presented the midday news on the first channel for many months, when Marie-Sophie Lacarrau was forced to temporarily leave the antenna, for health reasons. In fact, the former presenter of the JT of 20h of France 2 had impaired vision due to contact lens infection. Before that, Jacques Legros had taken control of the 1 p.m. news from TF1 when Jean-Pierre Pernaut had to step back to fight his first cancer. The presenter also had to take the antenna during confinement. Due to the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, the iconic holder of the 1 p.m. news from TF1 had to stay at home as a precaution, in order to limit the risks to his health.
As part of the promotion of his latest book, titled Behind the screenJacques Legros gave an interview to TV Major Channels Monday, September 26, 2022. During this interview, the journalist notably mentioned his relationship with Jean-Pierre Pernaut. “To have been his joker for 24 years without a single editorial clash is a source of pride. But I know he was itching to comment on my diary. He never spoke to me directly. The editors have always been able to spare the susceptibilities. Except once….“, explained Jacques Legros.
Jacques Legros: Jean-Pierre Pernaut’s mother complimented him on his work after the 1 p.m. news
“We had therefore installed an automatic mini-studio in his home. But he wanted to keep the leading role and asked the team more than necessary. […] For my part, I never knew what he was going to talk about. He was reluctant to share. He wanted more and more to take control of the whole newspaper. […] I was starting to boil inside, until the day I burst, gathered my stuff and headed back to the parking lot and my car. Since he wanted to do the newspaper for me, let him come and do it!”, remembered the eternal joker of TF1.
“I learned afterwards that with this mini-studio at home, it was not the Chronicle of a confined person, that he planned to do, but the entire newspaper, his love, his passion, his thing, his life. I came back, of course… No doubt he must have felt deep inside him the end of his adventure at 1 p.m. He had hardened. He had been ill. We weren’t friends, but neither were we enemies. I would just say our relationship was more distant and less smooth than one might have imagined.“, also added the journalist.
During this same interview, Jacques Legros also revealed a small anecdote about the mother of Jean-Pierre Pernaut. “At first, his mother called me after the news. ‘Thank you for caring for my son’s diary’, she told me. It was wonderful…“, he pointed out. While she followed her son’s television career very closely, Françoise Pernaut died in 2016, at the age of 101. For his part, Jean-Pierre Pernaut died on March 2, 2022, at the age of 71. After beating a first prostate cancer, the journalist sadly died of lung cancer. Barely two years earlier, he had officially bid farewell to the 1 p.m. TF1, after 32 years of good and loyal service, introducing her replacement, Marie-Sophie Lacarrau. He hadn’t retired, however. since he still presented a weekly program on LCI.