The untold story of 'Filiprim', 40 years later

BarcelonaAlthough it was only on air for four years, the program Filiprim marked an era at TV3. Taking advantage of the fact that it is 40 years since its premiere, ARA has spoken with some of the people who experienced it first-hand so that they can explain, with their kaleidoscopic testimony, the history of that show presented by the iconic Josep Maria Bachs (and the last season by Jordi Estadella), beyond what was seen on screen.

Oleguer Sarsanedas

Head of programs (1990-1996)

After all this time I couldn't say who came up with Filiprim, but, knowing Bachs' personality, the format was surely his. He had a long career at Ràdio Joventut which, despite being that of the Movimiento, was the most playful on the dial. I imagine TV3 must have wanted to sign him and he made the proposal for the program. The program was also playful, therefore, and established direct communication with the audience through calls, which were common resources in radio, not television. His father, moreover, was a stage designer, which would explain the elements of the staging that we still remember, such as the outlandish telephones. The influence of the theatre was also noticeable in the incorporation of the Señor Encarregat, played by Jaume Sorribas, a founder of Els Joglars.

Lluís Maria Güell

Head of programs (1983-1988)

Following Rosa Maria Calaf's advice, I had already tried to incorporate Bachs before, who was at Televisió Espanyola. But I met with reluctance from Alfons Quintà, the first director of the company, because he didn't want people from there, even though it was the only television station at the time. In Filiprim's time, the director was Enric Canals and there were no problems incorporating him. He was clear that he could bring a personal, different, and intelligent humor, like the one practiced today at home by Toni Soler.

Filiprim the director was Enric Canals and there were no problems incorporating him. He was clear that he could bring a personal, different, and intelligent humor, like the one practiced today at home by Toni Soler.

Lola Cuadrado

Coordinator of 'Filiprim' and wife of Josep Maria Bachs

I suppose Lluís Maria Güell must have proposed to him to do some program, but the idea was Josep Maria's. He had done some dabbling in El Jueves and from there he knew Perich, Tom and Romeu, Miquel Arguimbau... and he wanted to work with them. I joined the subsequent meetings, when the program was already conceived. They were a very cohesive group and they always finished the programs laughing, drinking and damn it all. Arguimbau commented that the program could be called Filar prim and, from there, it jumped to Filiprim.

Ramon Navarro

Comedian

I remember the family spirit very much, which was great. For example, one day Perich takes me aside and says to me: “You are a son of a bitch, Ramon! I kill myself all day making some cartoons and you go out for three minutes saying that the towns have been translated into Spanish and that now Igualada will be Empate and that Salou will be Salhuevo and the next day everyone talks about you!” Of course, I was thrilled that he made me this affectionate reproach, because it came from the guy I admire the most, a real philosopher.

Raquel Perich

Daughter of Jaume Perich

I would get nervous seeing him on television: I worried he would make a mistake! It still happens to me when I see a video of him. It seems strange now, after everything that has changed, doesn't it? You can tell there was a more leisurely way of speaking. I was seventeen or eighteen years old then and I was flustered because I was super shy, so going to restaurants was a torment for everyone: "Professor Perich!! Tell a joke!". But he is the only comedian I know who never told a single joke! In his office, he had a cartoon that he had drawn for himself, which reflected this situation.

Ramon Navarro

As my recurring phrase was “Mr. Bachs, nyè!”, when I went through the streets and towns I heard beside me “Nyè, nyè, nyè!” I had to park far away and arrive from behind, because it was tremendous. Following the Filiprim I published eleven records and a book, and with Sorribas we did the Filishow, a show for children that was always full.

Mari Pau Huguet

Presenter

Jordi Novellas, Francesca Fosalba and I were on the continuity shifts at TV3. We rotated schedules and whoever was on the afternoon shift would then go up to the studio and present the image micro-quiz: a video was shown and you had to guess how it ended, to win 25,000 pesetas from that time. I had been there as an audience member, before joining the television. People always left loaded with bags of small gifts.

Rosa Cornet

Presenter

I will always remember the program because it was my first live broadcast. I had just started in continuity, replacing Mari Pau. It was a controlled situation, as you were sitting and reading the teleprompter. There, on the other hand, there was no fixed script, but an outline with the different sections. That first live broadcast, I remember thinking that I would fall to the ground at any moment, from how my legs were shaking. But I was fine right away. It was a happy period, as television was then, which was just being born.

Ramon Navarro

The program was very free. One day we agreed with Bachs that I would tell him something in his ear and we would start laughing. We spent three minutes all laughing, him, me, and then the audience, as if there were no tomorrow, without really knowing what about. We had a great time.

Lola Cuadrado

Everything was very scripted, but live they dared to break it. In the end, since everyone had plenty of resources, then go for it and let the sun shine wherever it wants.

Jaume Ferrús

Director of TV3

Following the call from l’ARA, I have rewatched the latest episode uploaded on 3Cat and I find that it holds up perfectly. Bachs did a fantastic job and the collaborations he had, like Perich's, were brilliant.

Mari Pau Huguet

I am convinced that the fake mustache was to create a character and overcome shyness. I remember that he used to go for a snack before the show and when he saw through the glass that the audience was coming up the ramp leading to the studio area, since he knew they were invited for a snack, he would leave in a hurry, because he found it difficult to be extroverted and didn't want them to think he was stupid if he seemed distant. On the other hand, with the mustache on and the lights on... he transformed.Oleguer Sarsanedas

Bachs was practically agoraphobic, because you wouldn't find him out and about living the social life that other television colleagues of his age did. However, he could put on a great show and, above all, he was a professional as solid as a rock. Knowing that a program was in Bachs' hands was a guarantee that it would run smoothly. He made sure nothing went wrong. I also remember that he was a bit like Hansi Flick: when it came to renewing contracts, he was aware of his worth and made sure to get it. He always made short contracts. It wasn't easy, but once the agreement was closed, then everything was plain sailing.

Lola Cuadrado

When Filiprim was made, I was already Bachs' partner. I met him when I was nineteen, he was fifteen or sixteen years older than me and was already one of the big names at Ràdio Joventut, but the relationship started later, when he was at Miramar de TVE, as a weekend announcer. During downtime, we would go up to the rooftop to have vermouth and that's where we started dating. I became a producer and I've been with the Corporation for 40 years, whether at television or Catalunya Ràdio, because I only retired a year and a half ago.

Ramon Navarro

It is true that Bachs could seem very shy, but once he started laughing, then he fell apart.

Lola Cuadrado

At home, the fun one was me! He appreciated the fun and immediately joined in whatever I suggested. He never had a problem going on a trip or doing the Rocío. He was very serious, but at home he enjoyed people a lot. On the street, it's true that maybe he wore a mask: he was pleasant and kind, but not funny or especially friendly, due to shyness. He told me: "If they know me, I can't snub them." But he didn't pass by four times for them to see him, as others do. And I was clear that if we went to a restaurant, I had to sit in such a way that he had his back to the entrance, so it would be more difficult to identify him.

Lluís Maria Güell

He was a very likeable character, a very, very good person, cultured, sharp in his sense of humor, which linked us to English humor, with his irony and gentlemanly appearance. This linked us to the series we were buying at the time, like Els joves. He connected with the audience of TV3 at that time, which was different from today's. It was a very specific audience, with middle-aged and older people, who strongly identified with the channel and felt it was very much their own because they saw the dream of their own television in modern Catalonia fulfilled.

Lola Cuadrado

They held weekly meetings to decide on the different programs and Arguimbau would take notes all afternoon, laughing. At home, he would put them in order and give them a certain structure. He would return with the script and the editors would cross out half of it and return the other half. There were political things that didn't happen, of course, but in general, Bachs didn't say anything particularly big or significant: he was rather ironic. In fact, talking about Palau de Plegamans was always the way to avoid connecting news with real places. Everything happened in Palau de Plegamans and thus it seemed like it happened nowhere and was more convincing.

Raquel Perich

At that time there were very taboo subjects. The royal family was not touched. Or the Church. And the subject of sex... very little, even though he was allowed quite a bit, for what that time was. His father liked to talk about it openly, and he would ask if one preferred breast or thigh, but when he did people would call the television and the politicians from Convergence, who were more like priests, would get nervous.

Lola Cuadrado

From Palau de Plegamans they called us gratefully because it turns out that now everyone was going to see the dam that had fallen, as we had said, or the Virgin of Montserrat that they had placed on a mountain... that didn't exist, of course. They invited the whole team to lunch, because that would attract local tourism. They even named a street after us!

Laura Vallbona

Councillor of Culture of Palau-solità i Plegamans (1987-1991)

In those years, the municipality was finishing the L’Alzina urbanization. The mayor found all that joke with the program very amusing, so he proposed to have the street Filiprim. That was a joke: it seemed a bit foolish to us, but look, it went ahead! I suppose younger people don't understand what that name means.

Lola Cuadrado

We were not colleagues. We were friends. We were young and it showed. The friends I still have are people from television, because we were together morning, afternoon and night doing incredible and crazy things. It was the best stage of my life.

Laura Vallbona

In 1988 they did the New Year's Eve chimes here in Palau. But in the church there was neither a bell tower nor a bell, which there is now. The television people made a whole setup to place a structure and a bell behind the church.

Ramon Navarro

Llàtzer wasn't from the world of show business. He used to sell chewing gum to the swallows. Between that and his age, Filiprim never remembered the lines very well. Since it was live, they kept cutting down his parts. On the other hand, in Dicciopinta or Tres quarts de Bachs, since it wasn't live, we could do several takes. And when he managed it, on the sixth one, we all started applauding him and celebrating. Escarceller was a very, very loved character. And he loved being on television. When we filmed at seven, he was already made up by four.

Lola Cuadrado

The grandpa arrived in the morning, had lunch like this, and took a nap. We told him: “Grandpa, today you have to say this and that!” And then he said whatever he wanted.

Raquel Perich

My father appearing on television didn't excite him, but they paid well. He was prouder of other things he had done, whether in El Jueves, in Interviú... but it's for that reason that people remember him the most. I remember he always wanted to quit and would say: come on, one more year and I'll leave. And it was always one more year, because even though he did many things as a freelancer, he needed to supplement his income, and if he wanted to go on vacation, he had to pay for it himself. The press never raised their rates and that situation did make a slightly more bitter part of him emerge, about which I heard him complain.

Lola Cuadrado

In some program changes, Sarsanedas and Bach did not get along. He, in any case, jumped from Filiprim to La Parada, which was weekly, with international interviews, performances, music... And Jordi Estadella took over from him.

Lluís Maria Güell

Bachs on Filiprim was the axis of the program, and this required a lot of dedication from him, in addition to significant energy. I imagine he couldn't maintain it and looked for alternatives. TV can be very tough. Furthermore, La Parada was a prime time program, potentially with more audience and budget.

Ramon Navarro

They must have thought that five years was too much, and that's why he left and, when he returned, he made the Dicciopinta, which had many similarities, and then Dos quarts de Bachs, which in essence were continuations, with other names.

Mari Pau Huguet

On the day of his funeral, I remember that at the Tanatori de les Corts I was sitting with Toni Clapés and there were colleagues from Sports. They asked us if anyone wanted to say anything, but we all looked at each other and didn't dare to. But Toni stood up and said that his humor came from Bachs. And that he was a kid who had followed him as a fan and had taken him as a mirror.

Ramon Navarro

People still talk to me about Filiprim, and miss it. Many things happened there, and they were very short. If one didn't suit you, you didn't leave, because you knew another segment would soon follow. It was very addictive, and I noticed that when I went to the towns afterwards, to the local festivals: people would grab me and hug me as if they had known me all their lives. We reached the soul of Catalonia. They often tell me: 'What a shame, TV3, they should bring it back'.

Mari Pau Huguet

One of the sports colleagues revealed an anecdote to me: “Perhaps you don't know something, but the day you took the tests to enter TV3, Bachs passed by the control room for a moment, saw you and said «This girl is very good»”. He had never told me anything! And I started to cry, because I realized that I would never be able to thank him for that support when I was a lost young woman on the set, with my legs trembling like a flame.