Philip Freriks | |
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![]() Freriks in 2025 | |
Born | Philip Johan Freriks 27 July 1944 Utrecht, Netherlands [1] |
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Philip Johan Freriks (born 27 July 1944) [1] is a Dutch journalist, columnist and television presenter. He is known as newsreader of the NOS Journaal from 1996 until 2009. [2] [3] He presented multiple television shows, including the quiz show De slimste mens and the spelling test Groot Dictee der Nederlandse Taal . [4]
At a young age, Freriks worked for the newspaper Nieuw Utrechts Dagblad, the Utrecht edition of Het Parool . [5] [6] He studied at the Hogere Burgerschool (HBS) in Utrecht and he studied political science in Paris, France. [1] [7] Freriks moved to Paris in 1965. [1] Between 1971 and 1993, he worked as correspondent in France for several media outlets, including Het Parool, De Volkskrant and NOS. [3] [8] He also worked as correspondent in the Netherlands for the French newspaper Le Monde . [3]
He is known for presenting the NOS Journaal from 1996 until 2009. [2] [9] Charles Groenhuijsen was planned to be his successor at the NOS Journaal in 2006 but Groenhuijsen was fired after a conflict with NOS. [10] [11] Rob Trip became his successor in January 2010. [12] [13]
Freriks also presented the Groot Dictee der Nederlandse Taal , a televised spelling test for adults, from 1990 until 2016. [4] [14] Since 2018, the event is held via radio. [15] Freriks dictated the text of the 2018 edition and Frits Spits presented the show. [15] [16] Since 2019, retired politician Gerdi Verbeet dictates the text of the Groot Dictee der Nederlandse Taal. [17] [18] Freriks and Mieke van der Weij presented the 2004 quiz show De Grote Bijbelquiz with questions about the Bible. [19]
In 2008, Freriks presented the segment Le Tour de Fifi as part of De Avondetappe, a television show about the Tour de France presented by Mart Smeets. [20] In the same year, Philip Freriks, Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal and Eva Jinek presented the show NOS Amerika Kiest ('NOS America Chooses') from Washington about the United States presidential election. [21] [22] He was the narrator in the 2012 edition of The Passion , a Dutch Passion Play held every Maundy Thursday since 2011. [23] In 2014, Freriks and weather reporter Erwin Kroll presented Lekker Weertje, a six-part series about the weather and the influence it has on society. [24] They presented a second season of the show in 2015. [25] He presented the 2018 television show Een Hollander in Parijs which looks at six 19th-century Dutch painters living and working in Paris. [26] [27]
Freriks presented multiple television series about historic events or time periods. In 2021, he presented the six-part television series In de voetsporen van de wederopbouw which looks at rebuilding the Netherlands from 1945 onwards after World War II. [28] He presented In de voetsporen van D-Day (2019), about the Normandy landings (D-Day), In de voetsporen van de jaren 60 (2023), about the 1960s, and In de voetsporen van de jaren 70 (2024), about the 1970s. [29] [30] [31] He also presented In de voetsporen van de bevrijding (2020) about the liberation of the Netherlands at the end of World War II. [32]
Freriks is known as presenter of the television quiz show De slimste mens . [33] [34] He first presented the show in 2012. [35] [36] In September 2023, he announced that he would stop presenting the quiz show in 2025. [37] In December 2024, he was decorated Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau on the day of filming his last episode of De slimste mens. [38] He received the award from mayor of Hilversum Gerhard van den Top. [9] The last episode of the show with Philip Freriks as presenter and Maarten van Rossem as jury member aired in January 2025. [39] [40] Herman van der Zandt succeeds him as presenter of the show. [41] [42] Van der Zandt was also a contestant and he won the 24th season of the show. [43] Author and cabaret performer Paulien Cornelisse succeeds Maarten van Rossem as jury member. [44] [45]
Freriks appears in the 2024 film Opa Cor. [46] He provided the Dutch voice for the character Nitwit in the 2025 film A Minecraft Movie directed by Jared Hess. [47] [48] On 4 May 2025, Freriks held the 4 mei-voordracht in the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam as part of the Remembrance of the Dead events and ceremonies. [49] [50] In June 2025, he presented Oorlogsalbums, a two-part television series about photo albums of unknown soldiers. [51]
His brother Jan was killed at a young age on 14 April 1945 during the Battle of Groningen. [1] [52] He published the book Jantje about his brother. [52] [53] Freriks is married and lives with his wife in France. [8] They have a son. [8]