Lucille Werner
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Lucille Martine Werner (born 12 October 1967) is a Dutch television presenter and politician. She is best known for hosting close to 2,000 episodes of the word game show '' Lingo'' in the years 2005–14. Werner started her career at the Holland Media Group, anchoring news programs about show business. Later, she became a host of game shows and moved to
public broadcasting Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...
. She presented ''Get the Picture'' between 2002 and 2004 before becoming the host of ''Lingo''. After that show was cancelled, Werner worked for
SBS6 SBS6 is a Dutch free-to-cable commercial TV channel and is a part of Talpa TV, formerly known as SBS Broadcasting B.V. and now owned by Talpa Network. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are Net5, Veronica, and SBS9. History SB ...
and
KRO-NCRV KRO-NCRV is a Dutch public broadcasting company based in Hilversum established on 1 January 2014 from a merger of the broadcasters Catholic Radio Broadcasting (KRO) and the Dutch Christian Radio Association (NCRV), transmitting on NPO 1, NPO ...
. Being born with a disability, Werner has also hosted a number of shows involving disabled participants including the pageant Mis(s)verkiezing. She was elected member of parliament in the 2021 general election as a member of the
Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( , CDA) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands. Formed as a federation in 1975 by the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, and the Christian Historical ...
(CDA).


Early life and education

She was born in 1967 in the
North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...
city of
Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...
to Pieter Werner (1936–1989) and Paula Ramselaar (born 1942), an analyst. Werner suffered from a lack of oxygen during her birth, leaving her with
cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...
resulting in a limp. She grew up with two sisters and one brother. At age four, her family moved to the Colombian capital
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
, when her father was transferred there by his employer
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
. They moved to the village
Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...
in
Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
after seven years abroad and later returned to Eindhoven. She attended the high school Sint-Joriscollege at level between 1980 and 1985. She subsequently studied management and communication at level at
Schoevers Instituut Schoevers, known commonly as Schoevers, is a privately owned educational institution in the Netherlands, training students mainly for administrative positions. It was founded in Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of t ...
in
Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
. Her father committed suicide when Werner was 21 years old.


Television career


RTL and AVRO

Starting in 1990, Werner interned at ''De 5 uur show'', a talkshow on
RTL 4 RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free TV channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment channel with infotainment, televi ...
. In 1993, she got a job as an editor of the RTL program ''Showtime''. She also served as a correspondent and interviewed celebrities including
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
and
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
. Werner made her debut as a television host in September 1997, when the news show ''RTL Actueel'' premiered. She co-anchored its segment about show business news. After ''RTL Actueel'' was discontinued in June of the following year, Werner became host of several other RTL show business programs: ''Showtime'', ''Big Entertainment Club'', and the two-hour-long ''Hollands Hollywood'' on Saturdays. She co-presented the last two of those shows with Michael Pilarczyk. Besides, she encouraged viewers of ''Henny's House Party'', a talent show for disabled people, to donate money to a charity. Werner started presenting game shows in 1999. Her first such show was ''Zomerkampioen'' in the summer with Jo De Poorter. In the years 1999–2001, she served as one of the hosts of the new daytime phone-in quiz ''Puzzeltijd''. Werner signed a three-year contract with public broadcasting association
AVRO Avro (an initialism of the founder's name) was a British aircraft manufacturer. Its designs include the Avro 504, used as a trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the d ...
in 2001. Her first show there was ''Alle dieren tellen mee'', which was alternately presented by Werner and Anniko van Santen starting in September, about animals. She hosted another five-episode animal show called ''De dierentolk'', in which a medium communicated with animals, two years later. Werner became a game show host at AVRO in 2002. ''Smarttest'' was broadcast starting in January for a short period in the early evening on weekdays. In the second half of 2002, Werner became the sole presenter of ''Get the Picture'' and ''Capibara''. The former game show was on television in the early evening on weekdays and was hosted before by Paula Udondek, while the latter program had questions about animals and was broadcast on Saturdays. Both programs went off the air in 2004, when she had presented over 500 ''Get the Picture'' episodes.


''Lingo'' and further career

Werner began hosting the
TROS TROS, originally an acronym for Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting ("Television Radio Broadcasting Foundation"), was a Dutch television and radio organisation part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. This broadcasting association was partic ...
word game show '' Lingo'' on 1 September 2005. The program was broadcast every weekday in the early evening, and she succeeded
Nancy Coolen Nancy Anna Francina Coolen, known as Nance (born 10 September 1973 in Asten, North Brabant, Netherlands) is a Dutch singer and television presenter, and the former lead vocalist of Eurodance act Twenty 4 Seven. At the age of 15, Nance was disc ...
. When rumors reached the media in late 2006 that the network coordinator considered ending ''Lingo'', Prime Minister
Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter Balkenende Jr. ( ; born 7 May 1956), commonly known as Jan Peter Balkenende, is a Dutch jurist and politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 20 ...
reacted by asking the rhetorical question "How fond are we of presenter Lucille Werner?" In 2007, Werner also hosted the five-episode spin-off '' Lingo Bingo Show'', in which celebrities competed and raised money for the VUmc Cancer Center Amsterdam. That same year, she was co-host on Friday of the new
Evangelische Omroep Evangelische Omroep or EO ('Evangelical Broadcasting') is an Evangelical broadcast television network in Netherlands. It is one of the twelve member-based broadcasting associations contributing to the Dutch public broadcasting system. History E ...
talk show ''Knevel & Van den Brink'', appearing as sidekick of
Andries Knevel Andries Gerrit Knevel (born 13 February 1952, Naarden) is a Dutch theologian, author and presenter on Dutch radio and tv. From 1993 until 2006, he was television director of the Evangelische Omroep, a Dutch broadcasting organisation with Protestan ...
and Thijs van den Brink. Besides, Werner was one of two Dutch commentators of both editions of the
Eurovision Dance Contest The Eurovision Dance Contest was an international ballroom dancing competition organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF). The IDSF credits the existence of the contest to Richard Bunn ...
. She presented the selection of the Dutch candidate in 2007 as well. Werner hosted another talk show in the years 2011–12, when she served as the Friday host of ''5op2'', which was broadcast in the afternoon by
Omroep NTR NTR is a Dutch public-service broadcaster, supplying television and radio programming of an informational, educational, and cultural nature to the national public broadcasting system, Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO). NTR was created in 2010, f ...
. In 2013, she started serving as an ambassador for the lottery VriendenLoterij. ''Lingo'' celebrated its 25th birthday in early 2014 and was moved from the channel
Nederland 1 NPO 1 (known as Nederland 1 until 2014) is the first national television station in the Netherlands. It launched on 2 October 1951. It provides public broadcasting and currently exists next to sister channels NPO 2 and NPO 3. Several broadcastin ...
to
Nederland 2 NPO 2 (known as Nederland 2 until 2014) is a Dutch television channel, the sister channel of NPO 1 and NPO 3. It was established on 1 October 1964 at 20:00, initially with a 2.5-hour schedule until 22:30. NPO 2 tends to broadcast arts, culture ...
. The show went off the air later that year after its average daily ratings had decreased from about 800,000 to 370,000. Werner had presented almost 2,000 episodes, the last of which was broadcast on 2 October. In the summer of 2015, Werner hosted the Dutch version of quiz show ''
Pointless ''Pointless'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British television quiz show produced by Banijay Entertainment subsidiary Remarkable Entertainment for the BBC and hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode, four teams of two contestan ...
''. She moved to
SBS Broadcasting SBS Broadcasting Group (SBS), formerly Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems, was a European multinational media group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Northern, Western and Cen ...
in 2016. Her first show on its channel
SBS6 SBS6 is a Dutch free-to-cable commercial TV channel and is a part of Talpa TV, formerly known as SBS Broadcasting B.V. and now owned by Talpa Network. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are Net5, Veronica, and SBS9. History SB ...
was ''Show XL'', a program about entertainment news in the late afternoon on Sundays. It was co-hosted by
Fred van Leer Fred van Leer (born 18 September 1976) is a Dutch stylist and presenter. Van Leer is best known for mentoring and judging on the Dutch television program ''Holland's Next Top Model''. In 2020, van Leer was appointed as host for the Drag Race Ho ...
and was cancelled after three episodes due to low ratings. Werner also hosted ''Mijn laatste keer'' in 2016 about terminally ill people enjoying their last moments. Her contract was not renewed the following year. She became one of the hosts of ''De Ochtend Show to go'', a new online news program by a number of
DPG Media DPG Media Group is a Belgian Media conglomerate, media group. It is active in Belgium and the Netherlands. The exact ownership structure is not clear; it is believed that the group is mainly owned by the Belgian Van Thillo family.KRO-NCRV KRO-NCRV is a Dutch public broadcasting company based in Hilversum established on 1 January 2014 from a merger of the broadcasters Catholic Radio Broadcasting (KRO) and the Dutch Christian Radio Association (NCRV), transmitting on NPO 1, NPO ...
.


Advancement of disabled people

During her television career, Werner has supported disabled people. She was the host of a 2003–04 concert tour by musicians with a disability and presented the 2005 singing competition ''Scholierentour'' for young people. Half of its participants were disabled. Werner also wrote a book, which was published in May 2005, about her life as a disabled person called ''Het leven loopt op rolletjes'' (Life runs smoothly/Life runs on wheels). She handed the first example to Prime Minister Balkenende. Besides, Werner was initiator of Mis(s)verkiezing, a pageant for people with a disability. It was hosted by her and Jaap Jongbloed in 2006 and 2007 and was broadcast by TROS, where she presented ''Lingo''. Balkenende crowned the winner. Mis(s)verkiezing was succeeded by the CAPawards, which were given to persons who had best overcome their disability. It was organized in 2008 and 2009 and was nominated for a Rose d'Or. A children's version called Cappies was broadcast between 2009 and 2012 by TROS and was hosted by Werner as well. In addition, she created the children's drama series ''Caps Club'', that has three seasons and was broadcast by TROS/
AVROTROS AVROTROS () is a Dutch radio and television broadcaster that is part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. It was founded in 2014 as the result of a merger between the Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep (AVRO) and the TROS, Televisie Radio Omro ...
and in Belgium by
Ketnet Ketnet is a Flemish public children's television channel in Belgium owned and operated by the Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie, VRT, Flemish public broadcaster. It broadcasts a mix of locally produced and imported productions on the VR ...
in the years 2013–16. The show about a visually impaired boy nicknamed Cappie and his friends had a cast that included disabled child actors. Werner also had a minor role in the series. When Werner had signed a contract with SBS6, her pageant Mis(s)verkiezing was held once more in 2017. She presented it together with Kees Tol, while the winner was crowned by Prime Minister
Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO since October 2024. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, prime minister of the Neth ...
. In 2019, Werner co-hosted a live show of KRO-NCRV in which an unofficial Minister of Disabled Affairs was chosen. Furthermore, Werner has a charity, the Lucille Werner Foundation, which has been supporting disabled people since 2006. She launched CAP100, a website showing job seekers with a disability to potential employers, in November 2010. Werner has received a number of awards for her dedication to helping disabled people, namely the 2006 Frekie Trofee, the 2007 Nationale Revalidatie Prijs (National rehabilitation award), the 2008 Cleopatra Award from
Miss Nederland The Miss Nederland is a national beauty pageant in the Netherlands. The pageant was founded in 1929 in Amsterdam. History Former pageant From 1929 to 1931, the Netherlands held a national pageant in Amsterdam for the first time called "Miss ...
, the 2011 Martin Luther King/Hi5 Award, and the 2012 Majoor Bosshardt Prijs from the Leger des Heils. She is also a knight in the
Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...
.


Politics

She ran for member of parliament in the March 2021 general election. Werner was elected as the tenth candidate on the CDA's
party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...
and received 7,133
preference votes Preferential voting or preference voting (PV) may refer to different election systems or groups of election systems: * Any electoral system that allows a voter to indicate multiple preferences where preferences marked are weighted or used as cont ...
. She was installed on 31 March and became her party's spokesperson for disability policy, long-term health care,
caregiving A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are o ...
, the Social Support Act 2015, volunteering, media, culture,
emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...
, and
civilian service Alternative civilian service, also called alternative services, civilian service, non-military service, and substitute service, is a form of national service performed in lieu of military conscription for various reasons, such as conscientious o ...
. Werner is on the Committees for Art, for Education, Culture and Science, for Health, Welfare and Sport, and for Petitions. In the House, she proposed a fixed television channel number for regional broadcasters in order to increase their visibility. Together with two other parties, she also advocated for appropriating additional funds to the public broadcasting organization to increase the amount of programs with
audio description Audio description (AD), also referred to as a video description, described video, or visual description, is a form of narration used to provide information surrounding key visual elements in a media work (such as a film or television program, or ...
. Regarding disabilities more generally, Werner pled for talking about the group more often in terms of emancipation than in terms of healthcare. A 2022
motion In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an o ...
by her to establish a citizens' panel to explore the issue further was carried by the House after the cabinet had advised against it. When the collapse of the
fourth Rutte cabinet The fourth Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 10 January 2022 until 2 July 2024. The cabinet was a continuation of the third Rutte cabinet and was formed by the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( ...
triggered a snap election in November 2023, Werner announced she would not run for re-election.


Personal life

In the second half of the 1990s, Werner bought a historic farm in the North Brabant village
Strijbeek Strijbeek is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Alphen-Chaam 11 km south of the city of Breda.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. History The na ...
, situated close to the border with Belgium, where she lived with her boyfriend. She moved to Amsterdam in 2004 after her eight-year relationship had ended. She married Servaas Snoeijers (born 1969), who works in the media industry, in their place of residence
Nederhorst den Berg Nederhorst den Berg () is a village in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It lies about 8 km northwest of Hilversum in the Vechtstreek area, near the Vecht river. Until 1 January 2002, it was a separate municipality; it is now part ...
on 5 June 2009 after being in a relationship with him for five years. They adopted a four-year-old Bulgarian boy called Angel in 2014. Werner moved from Nederhorst den Berg to
Voorburg Voorburg () is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Together with the town Leidschendam and the village Stompwijk, it merged into the municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg in 2002. Sit ...
during her membership of the House of Representatives. She has been singer in a number of bands playing rock and South American music. Jos Werner, a CDA senator, is her uncle.


Filmography


Decorations

*
Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...
** Knight (18 August 2010)


Electoral history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Lucille 1967 births 21st-century Dutch women politicians Beauty pageant hosts Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Dutch game show hosts Dutch politicians with disabilities Dutch women television presenters Founders of charities Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Living people People from Eindhoven 20th-century Dutch people 20th-century Dutch women Television presenters with disabilities People with cerebral palsy Dutch MPs 2021–2023 Christian Democratic Appeal MPs