Catherine Langeais - Television

Television

Initially recruited to present the programmes of the new national television network RTF in 1949, Catherine Langeais was probably the most popular lady presenter (speakerine) of French television, from the end of the 1950s through the 1970s. It was she who welcomed BBC viewers in the first international on-line television broadcast, the Franco-British week of July 1952, thanks to the new conversion standard which was to allow, a year later, the international broadcast of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and later the inauguration of the Eurovision song contest.

In parallel with introducing programmes, Catherine Langeais took part in diverse light entertainment programmes in the years 1950-1960, such as "C'est arrivé à 36 chandelles" and "La séquence du spectateur" (later renamed "La séquence du téléspectateur"), as well as the cookery programme "Art et magie de la cuisine" with the chef Raymond Oliver.

A chronic illness, which she concealed for a long time, made the job difficult but did not prevent her from working until 1955. Patiently, although ill, she continued with her programmes ("A vous de juger", "La séquence du téléspectateur", and some children's programmes). On Sunday 5 January 1975, she emotionally closed the broadcasts of the first channel (ORTF), which was replaced the next day with the new public company Télévision Française 1 (TF1) in which she did no more than the voice-overs of the "La séquence du téléspectateur", while her husband Pierre Sabbagh was director of programmes for the second channel.