tv“You see Natalia appear in ‘The Voice’ and know that she earns a lot of money from it. A day later she says in a program that she only has 4 euros left.” In ‘Gert’s table’, writer Herman Brusselmans lashes out at the new program ‘Astrid and Natalia: Back To Reality’. Previously, presenter Siska Schoeters also joined the heated discussion. Channel VTM brushes aside the criticism. “We also receive many positive reactions.”
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From ’embarrassing’ to ‘unbelievable’. Astrid Coppens (41) and Natalia Druyts (43) are being severely beaten on social media after the first episode of ‘Astrid and Natalia: Back To Reality’. The idea of allowing the two BVs to live in poverty for one month is not well received by everyone. Certainly not for real single mothers, who are barely making ends meet. Many well-known Flemish people are now also participating in the discussion, including presenter Siska Schoeters (41) and Herman Brusselmans (66).
In ‘Gert’s table’, Gert Verhulst also asked his guests on Tuesday evening what their opinion was about the controversial series. Opinions were divided there. Herman Brusselmans was harsh with his criticism. “You see Natalia appear in ‘The Voice’ and know that she makes a lot of money from it. A day later she says in a program that she only has 4 euros left for Astrid, who was once with a millionaire,” the writer said. “Those two are going to be poor people for a month. I think it’s horrible.”
Lawyer Omar Souidi immediately responded with a completely different vision. “I don’t agree with that. I think we have started to live in a kind of complaining culture, in which every program is undermined after 3 minutes. I think we should give programs a little more time,” says Souidi. “The public will decide. If the ratings aren’t good, it will be removed. If it continues to grow, it might get a second season.”
Final viewing figures for ‘Astrid and Natalia: Back To Reality’ are not yet available – viewing is often delayed – but the first episode reached 137,000 live viewers. There is also eager commentary on social media. “Poverty is only really poverty if you have been in that situation for years. Then your clothes and shoes are worn out and you have no money to replace them with decent things. Being creative for a month with little money is very different from poverty,” someone writes. “I don’t think people who really live in poverty can laugh at this,” says another.
Striking: VRT 1 presenter Siska Schoeters also expressed her dissatisfaction about the new VTM 2 program on Instagram. “In thoughts of all the single mothers who cannot ‘approach’ that task, but live it every day. Not being able to work part-time, but working overtime. And they would be very happy just with a car.”
(Read more below the post)
Siska Schoeters © RV instagram
Volunteer work
VTM spokesperson Tine Danschieter understands the commotion, but emphasizes that there are also just as many positive reactions. “There are critical people, that is also allowed if you are working on a sensitive topic, but we also read a lot of positive comments online. People who are very curious about how Astrid and Natalia will handle it. Single mothers also say that they like the attention paid to them. You can highlight this theme through a reporting program, but we opted for a light-hearted approach to reach a different audience. It is also not a program about poverty. Above all, we want to create a nice program. This time with the idea that four in ten working people have difficulty making ends meet financially. We want to say to those people: ‘It’s a shame that you still get to do it every month.’ Natalia and Astrid also mention that what they have to deal with is only a fraction of what people with a limited income really experience.”
Of course we were making a TV show and that wasn’t ‘real’ life
Natalia
Some also wonder whether Astrid and Natalia will donate the compensation for their cooperation in the program to charity. “Making television is of course their job,” says Danschieter. “But the first episode is not representative of the entire program. Later they talk to mothers who are on their own, they do volunteer work at Moeder-Zorg in Turnhout and they also work in a chicken stall or a do-it-yourself store.”
LOOK. Natalia’s & Astrid’s transformation also includes new cars, which are less luxurious than usual: “No air conditioning, that’s not possible, is it?”
Natalia herself explains on Instagram what the purpose of the program is. “For a month we tried to approach the lives of single mothers who combine caring for their kids and their part-time job every day… Of course we were making a TV program and that wasn’t the ‘real’ thing. life, but we wanted to create some awareness about how difficult it is for 4 out of 10 single moms to make ends meet in our society. We know that this is an everyday struggle for many people.”
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