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French TV personality Grichka Bogdanoff dies of Covid-19

French TV personality Grichka Bogdanoff has died at the age of 72, his family has said.

File photo of French TV personality Grichka Bogdanoff, who has died at the age of 72
Grichka Bogdanoff. Photo: Yann Coatsaliou / AFO

Grichka Bogdanoff died in hospital in Paris, aged 72, his agent confirmed on Tuesday, while twin brother Igor is being treated for the virus at the same hospital, according to reports.

The twins became famous as TV personalities and hearthrobs in the 1980s, but in later years were best known for their increasingly bizarre appearance as they underwent dozens of cosmetic surgery procedures.

READ ALSO The Bogdanoff twins: The story of France’s TV heart-throbs turned ‘freak shows’

The family’s lawyer later confirmed to Le Monde that Grichka died of Covid-19, and had not been vaccinated. He was hospitalised on December 15th.

“Surrounded by the love of his family and his family, Grichka Bogdanoff passed away peacefully on December 28, 2021 to join his stars,” his family said in a short statement.

The brothers, who have links to European royalty, presented the popular TF1 science programme Temps X, from 1979 to 1987, and went on to present or feature in a number of science and sci-fi programmes on French TV.

Their lives later descended into academic controversy and legal troubles. In 2001, the “Bogdanoff affair” alleged that the brothers wrote nonsensical advanced physics papers that were published in reputable scientific journals.

They have also had a number of brushes with the law.

In recent years, they had become popular figures in the cryptocurrency community and in 2020 appeared on TF1’s celebrity show Mask Singer.

They had been working towards what they hoped would be a return to French TV screens, but plans for a new science-based show on pay-TV broadcaster Canal+ had been put on indefinite hold.

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What’s on French streaming channels in November and December

From one of the biggest political scandals of recent decades to learning more about a French national icon - here's a look at the dramas and documentaries coming up on French TV and film screenings services.

What's on French streaming channels in November and December

It’s cold, dark and wet outside – so maybe it’s a good time to settle down in front of the TV, and keep warm. Here’s a rundown of what’s coming up on the major streaming channels in France. 

All the Light We Cannot See – Netflix

Available now

Director Shawn Levy knows how to tug a heart-string – and is brave enough and smart enough to pull off an adaptation of this Pulitzer Prize-winning and much-loved novel, about a blind French teenager and a German soldier whose paths collide in occupied Saint-Malo as the Allied invasions nears. You may even forgive Mark Ruffalo’s attempt at an accent by the end…

The Billionaire, The Butler, and the Boyfriend – Netflix

Available now

Documentary examining how a personal conflict between the world’s wealthiest woman – L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, who died in 2017 – and her daughter spiralled into national scandal.

Ex president Nicolas Sarkozy is still embroiled in various court cases relating to the scandal. 

Jane par Charlotte – Disney Plus

Available now

Something of a tribute to Jane Birkin, this very personal voyage-of-discovery documentary, filmed by daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg reveals as much about the film maker as it does its subject. 

Nouveaux Riches – Netflix

Available now

A con artist turns to a crypto millionaire for urgent help after a high-stakes game of poker goes badly wrong. Zoé Marchal and Nassim Lyes star in Julien Royal’s latest Netflix offering.

Santa et Cie – Disney Plus

Available now

A variation on the unwitting-hero-saves-Christmas theme. And this time it’s Santa  himself who has to do the work, after all 92,000 of his toy-making elves fall ill, and the bearded one has to scour Earth for a cure. Alain Chabat, best known as one part of French comedy group Les Nuls, stars.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off – Netflix

Available now 

One for the geek in your life – an anime update of Edgar Wright’s witty and warm-hearted 2010 comic book adventure, in which the bass-playing, garlic bread-eating slacker hero battles the seven evil exes of his dream girlfriend.

Doctor Who – Disney Plus

From November 25th

Doctor Who gets a new home outside the UK and Ireland, starting with the first of the under-new/old-management specials, as Russell T Davies brings back David Tennant (aka ‘Fourteen’) and Catherine Tate (aka The DoctorDonna) for a few adventures before Ncuti Gatwa takes control of the Tardis.

Un Stupéfiant Noël – Amazon Prime

From December 8th

Arthur Sanigou – the director behind the ridiculously funny Vengeance au Triple Galop – helms this seasonal body-swap comedy with a twist, in which a dour, workaholic cop and a hapless character from a Christmas movie find themselves leading each other’s lives at just the wrong, or right, time…

The Bad Guy – Amazon Prime

From December 8th

Crime drama meets dark comedy as a Sicilian public prosecutor, who has dedicated his life to putting mafia-types behind bars, goes rogue after he’s accused of being a crime syndicate high-up.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget – Netflix

From December 15th

Family Christmases and Aardman animation go together like … well, family Christmases and Aardman animation. You know the Great Escape story of the original, much-loved 2000 animated film. This time, those pesky chickens are trying to break back in…

Maestro – Netflix

From December 20th

Bradley Cooper was in front and behind the camera, and had a hand in the script of this biopic of composer Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Carey Mulligan). Given the success of his directorial debut A Star Is Born, expect good things from his second stint in the big chair…

Percy Jackson and the Olympians – Disney Plus

From December 20th

Rick Riordan’s family friendly gods-and-monsters fantasy novels should be perfect TV and cinema adaptation fare, but the two films to date haven’t exactly enamoured fans. This time, Riordan has had some input as Disney takes the plunge with a TV series version of the first book in the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles. Here’s hoping for better fortunes. 

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire – Netflix

From December 22nd

The Seven Samurai set in space is far from a new concept, but director-producer Zack Snyder works his magic on the oft-mined formula for the first part of what’s described as an, “epic science-fantasy event decades in the making”. One thing’s for sure, it’ll be spectacular. Algerian actor Sofia Boutella – who you may recognise from Kingsmen: The Secret Service, Star Trek Beyond and Tom Cruise’s The Mummy – stars.

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