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Everybody is crazy about Stefano De Martino
His traditional TV host approach is working
January 12th, 2025
Alberto Castellano
Since September 2024, Stefano De Martino has been hosting Affari Tuoi, one of Rai's most successful programs in recent years, previously hosted by Amadeus. Despite being his debut on Rai1, the choice of the 35-year-old from Campania is proving to be optimal, as the program continues to be the most-watched in Italy – with over 5 million viewers each evening. The host's success was by no means guaranteed: De Martino is very young for Rai, where most game show hosts in the time slot before prime time are quite senior. De Martino himself admitted he joined Affari Tuoi thanks to Amadeus's move to Nove. However, as a presenter, he is winning over almost everyone, and his ability to adhere well to Rai's traditional hosting style is highly appreciated by the company's executives. As reported by Repubblica, the broadcaster has gone so far as to describe him as one of its «crown jewels», and has not hidden the possibility that in a few years he might host the Sanremo Festival – the most important program in the schedule, historically entrusted to experienced hosts. In her interview on Belve, long-time Rai figure Mara Venier referred to him as her only possible successor on Domenica In.
De Martino's debut on Rai 1 was not easy, and the presenter took some time to get into the swing of things. On the Corriere della Sera, the renowned television critic Aldo Grasso criticized his hosting, saying that «he has not yet managed to put his mark on this program, but he will, thanks to the fundamental law that governs television: habit». Vanity Fair also criticized his debut. On Belve, De Martino admitted having a lack of general knowledge and said he is trying to catch up on everything he missed during his school years. With Francesca Fagnani, he also spoke about his relationship with Belén Rodríguez, highlighting that being labeled – from a very young age – as "the husband of" caused him a lot of pain. Over the years, De Martino has also had to rethink his image, for example, by removing some tattoos on his neck and adopting a more sober way of dressing.
Where Stefano De Martino Was Born
De Martino was born in Torre Annunziata, in the province of Naples, in 1989. At the age of twenty, he was selected as a contestant in the "dance" category on Amici on Canale 5: he did not win the talent show but was later invited back by Maria De Filippi to be a professional dancer on the program. It was on Amici that De Martino met Belén Rodríguez, already very famous at the time: the two married in 2013 and had a son the same year. The relationship lasted about ten years and contributed significantly to De Martino's fame. As he recently recounted on the program The BSMT, the turning point in his career came in 2018, when he was offered to participate as a contestant on Isola dei Famosi: he refused and proposed himself as a correspondent instead. During the reality show, with some ups and downs, he began seeking inspiration by analyzing some old Rai programs – for example, studying in-depth Quelli della notte by Renzo Arbore from 1985. After leaving Mediaset, he co-hosted on Rai 2 Made in Sud and Stasera tutto è possibile, then between 2021 and 2023, he hosted four editions of the program Bar Stella, which he himself proposed and titled after his grandfather's bar where he spent his childhood.
Watching Bar Stella, one can see that De Martino's references are the historic variety shows typical of a certain era of 20th-century Italian television: he himself has criticized the approach of modern television productions, which, instead of creating original programs, have been investing for years in already successful formats tested abroad. De Martino's approach, if you think about it, is very different from that of contemporary hosts like Alessandro Cattelan, also considered a young Rai host: his programs are inspired by American late-night shows and designed to work on social media, thanks to guests popular among younger audiences and within the online sphere. It is instead thanks to a very traditional hosting style that De Martino is finding such success at Rai, managing to appeal to a very diverse audience.