Tereza Kostková and Marek Eben are stepping down from StarDance after two decades together on the Česká televize series.
The presenting duo launched the dance competition in 2006, marking twenty years since the program was filmed for the first time.
Marek Eben and Tereza Kostková announced their departure through a video shared by Česká televize on social media. We came to the conclusion that those twenty years, that it's a pretty good moment for us to also say goodbye,
Eben explained.
We are happy with how many people are walking through the final series with us after twenty years.
It's an honor to say that I've been somewhere for twenty years,
she stated. Eben added gratitude for the audience’s reception over the years.
We are grateful to the viewers for being so incredibly kind to us, because that doesn't happen so often in the media world,
he said. Discussing her career, Kostková noted that she has danced in special numbers during the show, performing once with Marek Eben, once with a group of professional dancers, and once with Honza Onder for a grand paso doble.
Before securing the role, Kostková faced a competitive audition process that nearly went a different way. Thirty years ago, she participated in a casting call for a different presenting role on the show O poklad Anežky České, ultimately finishing as a finalist alongside Klára Doležalová, who was selected as Eben’s partner at the time.
Later, she received an offer for StarDance while visiting Paris. Initially hesitant because the project was described as a reality show, she reconsidered upon learning Eben would host.
During a subsequent closed audition in Prague, producers also considered Mahulena Bočanová alongside Kostková. And so they put us next to Marek again, me and Mahulena. And this time they pointed at me,
Kostková recounted.
The current television run serves as the final season for both presenters.
Kostková emphasized that their departure relies on the atmosphere of the live broadcasts rather than added commentary. It seems to me that the form of saying goodbye, how we are there, who we are there, that we are with the people and the way we broadcast, has a communicative value in itself. And not the things around it,
she noted.
