Five years after her unexpected departure from the series, Victoria Abril returns to “Clem” from which she was unjustly ousted in 2018.
Clem’s long-awaited double episode, titled “The Reunion,” will air on Monday, November 6. After a year of absence, the beloved TF1 series will once again feature Lucie Lucas in the title role.
And we will also find there… a certain Caroline Boissier, the heroine’s missing mother! And yes, Victoria Abril is indeed making her return to the series after her ouster at the end of season 8.
The death of Clem’s mother in a car accident shocked many – including her interpreter: her premature departure from the series, Victoria Abril didn’t see it coming. In June 2018, the actress announced on social networks that she would not participate in season 9: “Unfortunately my character disappears from the series.”
Celine Brachet / CAPA Pictures / TF1
Season 9 then started with the death of Caroline before jumping back in time by six years. Victoria Abrilinjured, recently expressed her disappointment: “It pained me because they cut off my head, off-camera. The character disappears in a car accident but I am not seen. I wasn’t given that last season or that last evening where the characters say goodbye,” before suggesting that a return of the character was planned.
“SHE WAS RIGHT”
Questioned by Franceinfo, the producer of the series Fabrice Renault spoke last week on the subject, admitting his error.
For us, what’s important are the stories. What we actually regret is having made him die like that. She complained, rightly, that with regard to her fans, the investment she gave to this series, she had not been treated well. […] She was right.
Production had been thinking about this return for several years. “We thought about how to bring her back because we didn’t want to create a ghost. We tried once or twice, Victoria told us no, that the story wasn’t the right one.”
The “good story”, it seems that the production has found it. “This time it was good, she told us ok. It was a good way to say goodbye to his fans.”
Rest assured, however, Caro will not be resurrected, as her interpreter explains: “The character is dead, dead, dead. But, in fact, between the time I left for Canada and the following season, six years of my daughter’s coma passed. So, we will know what happened before the accident.”
LUCIE LUCAS AND VICTORIA ABRIL MEET AGAIN
In an interview that took place on Friday, Lucy Lucas also told us how his “Reunion” with his former playing partners went.
Jean-Philippe Baltel / TF1
“It was both super moving and exciting but also very, very joyful. We were so happy to see each other again. We knew that it would be quite short, because we usually meet for six months of filming. So we wanted to take advantage of it right away! The reunion happened very naturally. Our lifelong complicity has resurfaced. It was really delicious,” declared the heroine of Clem.
Asked if she regretted not sharing much of the stage with her on-screen daughter, Victoria Abrilalso present, declared: “Yes, I would have liked to have more, that’s for sure! Afterwards, I’m not sure if it’s because of specific constraints. I think the TV movie was just written like that…” (Comments collected by Florian Lautré)
The double episode of Clem will be available to watch live on TF1 on Monday November 6, 2023.