Sonja Barend
Barend has worked for television since 1966. From the late 1970s on she presented her own weekly talk show for the (socialist) VARA broadcasting organization, a show whose name was based on the day of transmission, e.g. Sonja op Maandag ("Sonja on Monday"). In 1996 Sonja op Zaterdag ("Saturday") came to an end, after the retirement of Ellen Blazer, her regular producer, with whom she collaborated from the beginning of her television career. Her show, which featured interview and public discussion, was known for allowing ordinary people to have their say. This included, for instance, the viewpoints of ethnic minorities, and relied to a great extent on Barend's personality and commitment.
Barend was outspoken on political and ideological topics, and television viewers either loved or hated her. Especially in the 1970s and 1980s she was never afraid to openly discuss taboo topics—homosexuality, feminism, emancipation, and sexuality. According to Marcel van Dam, chairman of the VARA from 1985 on to 1995, she personified the public's negative perception of the VARA (ill-tempered, moralistic), but he could not imagine how the VARA would have survived without her.
From 1997 until 2002 she and Paul Witteman had a daily news and talk program, B&W. She officially retired from making television in 2006, and on the occasion of her last Sonja show, was awarded as Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau by Job Cohen, then-mayor of Amsterdam. That last episode, which included an overview of her career and a number of notable television personalities, received a subtitle, "En morgen gezond weer op!" ("And tomorrow, wake up healthy"), in reference to her usual closing of her TV shows. Gezond Weer Op is also the title of a collection of interviews culled from her shows. An annual award for best television interview is named after her.
Biography from the Wikipedia article Sonja Barend. Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Recently Updated Shows
Chicago P.D.
District 21 of the Chicago Police Department is made up of two distinctly different groups. There are the uniformed cops who patrol the beat and go head to head with the city's street crimes. And there's the Intelligence Unit, the team that combats the city's major offenses - organized crime, drug trafficking, high profile murders and beyond. These are their stories.
Chicago Fire
No job is more stressful, dangerous or exhilarating than those of the Firefighters, Rescue Squad and Paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51. These are the courageous men and women who forge headfirst into danger when everyone else is running the other way and whose actions make the difference between life and death. These are their stories.
LOL: Last One Laughing UK
Famous for his dark humour, one-liners and THAT laugh, Jimmy Carr challenges 10 of Britain's funniest comics to spend the day together without so much as a titter. The rules are simple: laugh and you're out. Over the course of the series, they will use every ounce of their comedic talents to try and break their opponents - without cracking up themselves. And it's not just their rivals they need to watch out for. The series is packed with comedy cameos, format twists and surprises designed to lure laughs from both the players and the viewers. It's a stellar line up of British comedy talent as you've never seen them before, but who will be crowned the inaugural winner of Last One Laughing UK?
