Unknown stories behind the longest-running Greek television station

ANT1, the "child" of Minos Kyriakos, changed the media scene in his 30 years of presence

weekendmegsofds 1312x819 1 ANT1, Big Brother, media, Aliki Vougiouklaki, Anna Kouri, Anna Chatzisofia, George Polychroniou, ELENI MENEGAKI, Efi Pikoula, LAMPSI, Minos Kyriakou, Nikos Nikos, Nikos Mastos Oi , Terence Quick, Grace Romas

It was New Year's Eve 1989. At 9 p.m. Terence Quick, began to count down for the launch of a then newly established station that would change the media scene and was to "carry", today, 30 years later, the title of the longest running Greek television channel.

The reason for him Ant1 who on January 1, 2020 officially became 30 years old. And he is the "child" of a man with vision and love for what he did, of Minos X. Kyriakos.

The programs of the station, put their own stamp, each in its own way.

From the coffees in 1958 to the Antenna Group of 1989

antenes2 ANT1, Big Brother, media, Aliki Vougiouklaki, Anna Kouri, Anna Chatzisofia, Giorgos Polychroniou, ELENI MENEGAKI, Efi Pikoula, LAMPSI, Minos Kyriakou, Nikos Mastorakos, Nikos, Nikos Mersos, Nikos Quick, Thanks Romas

When the station was in its first steps and had just "closed" its seven years, the Minos Kyriakou gave his first TV interview -where else? - to Ant1 and Nikos Mastorakis.

He could not hide his emotion talking about his "child".

"We saw the miracle then… And I wonder, in these seven years what progress has been made? Again, I'm not happy about what we're doing! " he had said honestly and added: "You will call me ungrateful but… how much more can we do?" asked the presenter.

Then their strong man medium, wanted to share with him Nikos Mastorakis, a story from the distant 1958, when he was a child, only 16 years old.

ant1 7 ANT1, Big Brother, media, Aliki Vougiouklaki, Anna Kouri, Anna Chatzisofia, Giorgos Polychroniou, ELENI MENEGAKI, Efi Pikoula, LAMPSI, Minos Kyriakou, Nikos Mastorakis, Nikos Denis, Nikos O Terence Quick, Thanks Romas

"Here we are sitting in 1958, my uncle Alekos Pavezopoulos, the deceased, together with Bavaria Film made these studios, which were the jewel of the Balkans […] I had to work to make my living […] They had a little house outside the Alpha studio which was the cafe and I brought the coffees. They were still preparing, they hadn't done any production, and then they had just closed some production with Robert Mitcham and Jia Scala, their movie "Angry Hills", American of course and I was the coffee man. Not even a coffee maker να I brought it, I did not make it! " he had remembered then with nostalgia.

But how did an entire group of cafes form? "It started by accident, because I thought I could offer something to the country, not because it was fashionable. I remember I was in New York and we went to do some shows about Hellenism through the Aegean Foundation. In Chicago we literally fell for some. Killers. We also lost money… And then ω I say to the Despot, "don't we make a radio?"

When Roula Koromila "cut" behind the scenes of Ciao Ant1

proinoskafes 1 ANT1, Big Brother, media, Aliki Vougiouklaki, Anna Kouri, Anna Chatzisofia, Giorgos Polychroniou, ELENI MENEGAKI, Efi Pikoula, LAMPSI, Minos Kyriakou, Nikos Mastorakos, Nikos Mastorakos, Nikos Terence Quick, Thanks Romas

Entertainment has been the "backbone" of the program from day one. Each show was also a celebration for the viewers. Shiny dresses, rich sets, fun and smiling presenters kept the audience company. Ant1 participated in the emergence of important talents of the show, established standards and preceded the changes in the television industry.

Η Roula Koromila, through the frequency of Ant1 was established as the national presenter of Greek television. And how not to establish it? Her brioche, scherzo and immediacy put her in the hearts of the viewers who followed her in every professional step.

In a rare TV interview, Roula Koromila, confessed to Nikos Hatzinikolaou on the show "Enopios Enopio" an unknown incident from the time presented by Ciao Ant1.

ant1 3 ANT1, Big Brother, media, Aliki Vougiouklaki, Anna Kouri, Anna Chatzisofia, Giorgos Polychroniou, ELENI MENEGAKI, Efi Pikoula, LAMPSI, Minos Kyriakou, Nikos Mastorakis, Nikos Denis, Nikos O Terence Quick, Thanks Romas

"I had Aliki Vougiouklaki invited at Christmas. And he comes and sees me in the dressing room crying. And he says to me “little one, what happened? What happens;". I tell her I want to give up, she says "what do you mean?". I tell her that I do not want to go on TV again, I want to give up. And he tells me “I am here, I will go out in an eggplant, I will paint, I will be a doll and I will go out. And I will say that I will replace you. But I will say that you are also a big hen and I do not want you to call me again. "I do not want people who lose, I do not want people who put it down." It was awful, it stopped me. Of course, Aliki had a great influence and Aliki helped me a lot in very difficult times ", said Roula Koromila.

Guinness World Records "Shine", dizzying numbers and the role of Aliki Vougiouklaki

lampsi ANT1, Big Brother, media, Aliki Vougiouklaki, Anna Kouri, Anna Chatzisofia, Giorgos Polychroniou, ELENI MENEGAKI, Efi Pikoula, LAMPSI, Minos Kyriakou, Nikos Mastorakis, Nikos Den, KoSos, Nikos Re Quick, Thanks Romas

Ant1 means glow… And when we say «Shine»We mean the longest-lived Greek daily serial of Greek television which managed to enter the book of Guinness record.

At the time when "Lampsi" aired on television, the concept of "daily serial" was something unknown. And yet σο Both Nikos Foskolos and Minos Kyriakou believed in this project and supported it with all their souls.

On the afternoon that the first episode of "Lampsi" aired, its creator, Nikos Foskolos, although he was anxious about the result, he did not watch the series.

"The day Lampsi came out, my father did not see her, because he had gone to a church, lit a candle and prayed while the series was airing," Nikos Foskolos' daughter Della had confessed on television. interview.

The powerful Yagos, the ruthless Virna, the insidious Sandra, the humanist Alexis, the ambitious Tatiana, the rebellious Timos and so many other characters, every afternoon for 14 years entered almost every Greek house and stuck with their stories which were usually full intrigue and love.

The first episode of "Lampsi" marked a record television viewing for the season of 62%.

In its 14 years of screening, 3.457 episodes were screened, 1.500 actors, 7 directors passed through the set of the series, 150.000 pages were written for 190 stories.

In the success of "Lampsi" a key role was played by Aliki Vougiouklaki. But what was the participation of the "national star"?

"Before the shooting started, one night at our house, Nikos Foskolos and Aliki prepared the team of Lampsi. Aliki told him certain things, Nikos accepted her very much and admired her. He told him some names that had to play in Lampsi and Foskolos did that. "He told him about Katia Dandoulaki, Christos Politis, Costas Spyropoulos and Eleni Kourkoula" the actress had recalled Efi Pikoula, bride of Aliki Vougiouklaki, who played the maid in the series.

The unknown incident with the shooting and Eleni Menegaki

proinoskafes2 ANT1, Big Brother, media, Aliki Vougiouklaki, Anna Kouri, Anna Chatzisofia, Giorgos Polychroniou, ELENI MENEGAKI, Efi Pikoula, LAMPSI, Minos Kyriakou, Nikos Mastorakos, Nikos Mastorakos, Nikos Quick, Thanks Romas

Ant1 has been a hotbed for many presenters, actors and journalists in its 30 years of presence.

One of the glamorous people who made their appearance, dominated and continue to dominate the television events is the Eleni Menegaki.

The presenter, when she was a "child" of Ant1, had fallen victim to a fanatical fan of hers, who had been "nailed" to him as a couple and in order to pick her up and leave, she did not hesitate to take out a gun and start shooting.

"One of them had come and was shooting at the entrance, to Agios Thomas. And if he had not shot, they would have caught him on the shooter. Now we are talking when I first started, 22 years ago on Ant1. A fan who had told him that we were a couple, had come from somewhere in the province. "I came to get it"! I remember it very vividly ", Eleni Menegaki had remembered.

The only dog ​​that was insured with IKA

oimenkaioiden ANT1, Big Brother, media, Aliki Vougiouklaki, Anna Kouri, Anna Chatzisofia, Giorgos Polychroniou, ELENI MENEGAKI, Efi Pikoula, LAMPSI, Minos Kyriakou, Nikos Mastorakos, Nikos Mastorasko O, N Quick, Thanks Romas

From 1989 until the 2019-20 TV season, Ant1 has screened a total of 200 series of all kinds.

One of the series, which even a series has high ratings, although it is shown in a repetitive way, is "Me and the Not».

The series bore the signatures of Haris Romas and her Annas Chatzisofia and was a pioneer for its time.

Remarkable how advanced the series was from 1993 to 1996 was the appearance of a drag queen character who was also Dionysis' father (Thanks Roma).

In "Men and Den", Vana Daga's dog had also caught the eye. A small cute Maltese who Vana never left her arms and called her "child".

"Teresa" participated in the shooting and for this reason she was paid and was insured in… IKA!

"He was normally receiving a living wage, of course. In the first year he received 10 thousand drachmas a month and after the second he received 20 thousand, he had a 100% increase. And because they could not give them in black, they cut mine in the form, so he also got IKA. "Of course, he could not use it because it was difficult for the dog to go to IKA", the confessor had confessed. Anna Kouri in an earlier interview.

The video game that came into the spotlight of the tax office due to… slogan!

ANT1, Big Brother, media, Aliki Vougiouklaki, Anna Kouri, Anna Chatzisofia, Giorgos Polychroniou, ELENI MENEGAKI, Efi Pikoula, LAMPSI, Minos Kyriakou, Nikos Mastorakis, Nikos Fosla Kosko, Denos Fosko Gos , ΧαρηΣ ΡωμαΣ

The channel dared productions that went beyond the usual standards of entertainment, such as the emblematic global phenomenon "Big BrotherAnd offered a different proposal of television entertainment, thus conquering the identity of the pioneering station.

But there was a video game that got into the "eye" of the tax office because of the slogan. The reason for the "Wheel of Fortune" which was then presented by G-Poly (who is also loved by the Mongols, as he used to say), George Polychroniou.

At the beginning of the show, he gave the signal to start the game by saying: "The Wheel distributes millions"!

The music producer and presenter, speaking on a radio station, had described the moment when a tax collector knocked on his door.

"One day a tax collector drops it for me, the bell rings and he says to me: Mr. Polychroniou from the Tax Office, I am the local one, if you want, let us spend Monday. On Monday I had a shoot and I say to him: Does it matter if I pass later? I went to the shoot on Monday and said "Millions, but what? We owe! The Tax Office has come! "

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