Roberto Leal, presenter: «My rings would not fall off if I had to give one last hour again»

In the afternoons he triumphs with ‘Pasapalabra’ and on Friday night, too. Journalist Roberto Leal (Alcalá de Guadaira, Seville, 42 years old) puts celebrities to the test with ‘El Desafío’, the program that will be broadcast tomorrow by Antena 3 (10:00 p.m.) and which, in this installment, will experience a reunion between Jesulín de Ubrique and his wife, María José Campanario, after several years away from television.

–This year the contestants come more prepared?

-I have noticed that there are more bites from the beginning. In the end, when you have a new format, you have to internalize the mechanics at a demanding level, the jury has to warm up and the presenter grows little by little. Now, in this second edition, we were clear about where we wanted to go and we have seen what works best. From the first program, the format has started with the level of the final of the last edition. Celebrities took it very seriously from the beginning. They are not only going to laugh, but also to compete.

What is the most difficult challenge this year?

-It still seems to me, although this is something personal, apnea. I think that is the queen test. Then there are others of skill, musicals and a lot of humor. The contestants give everything and, in addition, you laugh. This year there is less excavator and machinery. We are also experiencing many moments of competition and dueling, and it is very good. When they compete with each other is when you see everything they have inside. It is curious to see characters as disparate as the Altar Boy, more accustomed to laughter, or Norma Duval, who is elegant, and when it comes to competing, it seems that we have let them loose in the jungle and they go all out.

–Which contestant surprised you?

-I had never seen Raquel Sánchez Silva as a contestant. She has my utmost respect as a presenter. In this program I have seen her fit and very competitive. She is very perfectionist. I also really liked meeting Jesulín de Ubrique, because I think he recovers a little that facet that he has of the healthiest humor and of being a man with courage and courage, who has not shrunk to any challenge. He has worked a lot, he has been injured and has recovered.

-In this Friday’s program they will be together on the set Jesulín and his wife, María José Campanario…

– We live a very beautiful, romantic and ethical moment. It had been a long time since we had seen that image of the two together on television. When he sees it, he is going to comment, because it was an enjoyment for both him and her. María José faces a very difficult challenge and you will see the courage she has and how she worked hard to do it well because she was not going to have another chance. It is also very moving to see how Jesus is waiting and suffering. And how it all ends, it’s almost like a movie.

-Now with so much news with the war in Ukraine, for example, don’t you miss the most informative journalism?

I have not stopped being a journalist. I am up to date. Being a journalist helps me to know what lines not to exceed in entertainment. I never say one word louder than the other and I’m always very alert in case someone messes up. I am a journalist 24 hours a day. The thing is that for me entertainment is journalism. It is communicating, being away from everything and sharing everything that is happening at that moment so that it reaches the viewer in the friendliest way.

–And would you present a current format again?

–Would you come back? Nor would my rings fall off if I had to give one last hour again. In fact, when I see my colleagues, José Yélamo in ‘La Sexta Noche’, who is like my brother, I enjoy him a lot and I remember that until four years ago he was doing something similar. I find myself very comfortable in entertainment and it is where I always wanted to be. Although I studied journalism, I always wanted to do something nice to go home laughing and not thinking about how bad the world is, which I already do as a person.