In October, the trial against Micke Leijnegard will begin, who is charged with sexual harassment after attempting to kiss a colleague in connection with the recording of last season's "Mästarnas mästare".
Now Leijnegard is leaving the viewer success he has led since the start in 2009, but it's not because of the charges, according to Christina Hill, SVT's program manager for culture, entertainment and lifestyle.
The Olympic Games will return to SVT next year. Then we'll make a real Olympic bang of "Mästarnas mästare", with returning stars and then we'll also make this change, she says and adds:
I understand that there are a lot of questions about it, but that's just the way it is.
Personnel matter
The events of last season have, apart from the criminal case, been investigated internally at SVT. Christina Hill tells TT that the personnel matter is closed and that Leijnegard will continue to work for SVT with other programs.
But can you continue to work at SVT if you are charged with sexual harassment?
No verdict has been passed, we don't know how anything will turn out. And with what I know today, I can say that we have confidence in Micke, who is a long-standing, highly appreciated colleague and program leader. There are no question marks about that.
What happens if he is convicted?
I don't know that right now. We'll see then. Then we'll have a dialogue with Micke.
Frick takes over
The new program leader for "Mästarnas mästare" will be Karin Frick, a long-standing program leader for sports broadcasts on Discovery+ and HBO Max.
It's a lovely program that encompasses so many emotions across the entire emotional spectrum, which sports in general do, says Karin Frick to TT.
How will you put your mark on the program?
Above all, I'll try to be myself, I don't believe in pretending to be someone you're not. It's been my thing throughout my career, even as a program leader, to be as personal as you can be, she says.
SVT will broadcast the Olympic Games this winter for the first time since 2012, but Christina Hill doesn't want to say if Karin Frick will also work with that major initiative.
We'll see. In any case, we're really happy that she wants to do this.
SVT will announce this year's participants in "Mästarnas mästare" at a later stage. TT has sought Micke Leijnegard for a comment.
Mikael Forsell/TT
Linn Lindblom Pääjärvi/TT
Facts: Karin Frick
TT
Karin Frick, 45, started as a reporter and program leader on Sport-Expressen on TV in 2005-2007.
She has also been a program leader on TV4 Sport and Nyhetsmorgon. Most recently, she comes from Discovery+ where she has also been a studio anchor, among other things in several Olympic Games, as well as Allsvenskan football and Grand Slam tournaments in tennis. She has a background as an elite player in tennis.
Karin Frick has also been a program leader for "P4 Extra" on Sveriges Radio.
"Mästarnas mästare" is a competition program broadcast on SVT. It's about former Swedish elite athletes challenging each other in different events. The winner is crowned after the decisive moment called "Nattduellen".
"Mästarnas mästare" has been broadcast every year since 2009. Micke Leijnegard has been the program leader since then. The program is designed after the Belgian format "Eeuwige roem".
Previous winners include, among others, Ingemar Stenmark (2011) and Anja Pärson (2024).
The 2026 season will have an Olympic focus, since SVT will be broadcasting the Olympic Games for the first time since 2012.
