After 50 years of existence, “Numbers and Letters” will disappear from the France Télévisions channels

End clap for the show “Numbers and Letters”. The emblematic public service game, launched in 1965, will stop and will not be present in the France Télévisions schedules at the start of the next school year.

Stéphane Sitbon-Gomez communicated the news in an interview given to our colleagues at La Tribune Dimanche. The program director of France Télévisions pointed to disappointing audiences. “The weekend programming of “Numbers and Letters” was not crowned with success. After fifty years of existence, it is an emblematic meeting. “It’s a difficult decision, but we have made the choice to stop this program,” he said.

As a reminder, the show underwent a total overhaul in 2022. Bertrand Renard and Arielle Boulin-Prat, two pillars of the game for 47 and 36 years respectively, were then ousted from the program. From September 2022, the show was no longer broadcast daily but weekly on weekends at 5:10 p.m. with a renewed team. Laurent Romejko, still at the presentation, now officiates with Blandine Maire and Stéphane Crosnier, two new recruits.

This decision to completely stop the game will certainly raise teeth in the cottages, “Numbers and Letters” having become, over the decades, an emblematic event on French television. To soften this departure, France Télévisions will offer proper farewells. “A goodbye show will bring together Patrice Laffont and Laurent Romejko, and will thank all the teams,” continues Stéphane Sitbon-Gomez. And if this historic format stops, that of the adaptation of “The 1000 Euro Game” will gain ground and will now be broadcast on weekends.

Also read “Numbers and letters”: decision postponed for Arielle Boulin-Prat and Bertrand Renard at the industrial tribunal

The game “Numbers and Letters” was created in 1965 by Armand Jammot in order to educate and cultivate viewers. Initially, candidates only played with letters and had to find “The longest word” (the original name of the program). Mental arithmetic appeared seven years later. Christine Fabréga, Patrice Laffont, Laurent Cabrol, Max Meynier and Laurent Romejko took turns presenting the program. First broadcast on France 2, the game arrived on France 3 in 2006. Note that this French format is also very successful abroad with a very well-known adaptation in the United Kingdom (it is even available in prime time with celebrities) but also in Australia and Spain.