MARIE-SOPHIE LACARRAU TO ANCHOR TF1 LUNCHTIME NEWS FROM 4 JANUARY 2021

Journalist Marie-Sophie Lacarrau is joining the TF1 news team and will anchor the weekday lunchtime news bulletin from January 2021.

Marie-Sophie has a wealth of journalistic experience, from outside broadcast reporter to news anchor – first on the France 3 Midi-Pyrénées regional news and as a stand-in on the France 3 and France 2 national news, and then as lead anchor on the France 2 lunchtime news. She will now take the helm at Europe’s most-watched lunchtime news bulletin, backed by the same team that delivers great news every day. Jacques Legros retains his role as stand-in presenter.

Thierry Thuillier, Executive Vice President of News at the TF1 group, says:
“Gilles Pélisson and I are delighted to welcome Marie-Sophie Lacarrau as our new lunchtime news anchor. Her experience as a lead presenter of TV news bulletins, news specials and high-profile prime-time shows, plus her knowledge of the French regions and in-the-field experience, make her an ideal choice to fly the flag for our lunchtime news bulletins. Working with the team that already delivers great news, she will personify the blend of change and continuity that will form the next chapter in the history of our news coverage. I have every confidence that Marie-Sophie’s professionalism and warmth will strengthen the unique bond our lunchtime news slot has with the viewing public.”

Marie-Sophie Lacarrau says:
“I am immensely proud and honoured to join the TF1 news team, and to take over the reins from Jean-Pierre Pernaut. I would like to thank Gilles Pélisson and Thierry Thuillier for their confidence in me, and I am eager to work with the lunchtime news team. I would also like to thank the teams at France 2 and France Télévisions for four fantastic years.”

Marie-Sophie Lacarrau:
Born on 20 September 1975 at Villefranche de Rouergue in south-west France, Marie-Sophie Lacarrau is married with two children. She began her career as a journalist after studying Modern Literature at the University of Toulouse.
From1996 to 1999, Marie-Sophie took on a range of journalism jobs in both print media (Midi Libre) and on television (LCI and M6, followed by Télé Grand Tourisme, Eurosport and La Chaîne Météo).
She joined France Télévisions in 2000 as a reporter, initially for France 3 Quercy Rouergue and later France 3 Midi-Pyrénées. Marie-Sophie presented her first news bulletin on France 3 Midi-Pyrénées during the 2005 Christmas holidays. From 2006 to 2016, she anchored both the lunchtime and evening regional news programmes on France 3 Midi-Pyrénées.
She became the stand-in first for Catherine Matausch on the France 3 weekend news (in the summer of 2010), and then for Carole Gaessler on the France 3 evening news (from September 2010 to August 2014) and Elise Lucet on the France 2 lunchtime news from 2014 to 2016.
Since September 2016, Marie-Sophie Lacarrau has been lead presenter on the France 2 lunchtime news. She has also presented special programmes such as the Bastille Day parade and one-off news programmes on Jacques Chirac and Notre Dame de Paris, as well as hosting fund-raising shows (for AIDS charity Sidaction, and for hurricane victims in the Caribbean), major awards ceremonies (the Molières and Victoires de la Musique), Noël avec nos soldats (a live special with French soldiers serving abroad), and the educational challenge La dictée pour tous.
Since 2019, she has also hosted Prodiges, a contest for young classical musicians.
Marie-Sophie Lacarrau is to anchor the lunchtime news on TF1, starting on 4 January 2021.