Wie is de Mol? (Who is the Mole?) is a nerve-wracking game show in which teams participate for financial prizes while also hunting a sabotaging mole in their midst.
This article contains spoilers for the Belgian game show ‘Wie is de Mol?’.
The programme, originally a Dutch concept, plays on teamwork and trust while the mole sabotages the game. Players must uncover the mole before the end of the last episode. Whoever does so wins the money collected by the team.
While the game is known for its tantalising unpredictability, the tenth season took a turn that no one saw coming. For the first time in De Mol’s history, the mole himself quit the programme before it came to its conclusion. Physiotherapist and subtle saboteur Philippe Minguet (35) said he “completely lost himself” as he exceeded his mental and physical limits.
Minguet was one of the few unsuspected players and presented himself as the friendly candidate with a permanent smile on his face. But in the third episode, he retreated in silence.
It was then that he confessed what has never been revealed before the season’s finale: Minguet was the saboteur of the game, and he would leave the game early to focus on his psychical and mental well-being, after crossing his limits. “I’ve never failed, and now I feel like I did. That breaks me,” he said.
Tunnel vision
The development shocked the makers of the program, who believed Minguet was performing his role perfectly. Presenter Gilles De Coster describes the so-called "tunnel vision" that participants often feel. "Minguet played it perfectly. The strongest moles have all had their doubts but with Philippe, we noticed that the doubts became convictions."
One night, Minguet feared he had shared a secret with his roommate in the middle of the night. "I was swearing in my sleep because I had failed at sabotaging a game," he relates. His roommate woke him up, asking why he was speaking in his sleep. "I had expressed my frustration because the group had won €3,000. I thought I messed it up. There is a lot you can control, but not what you say in sleep."
"Since then I didn’t dare to sleep, in fear of making the same mistake again. Being a mole is a huge effort... At one point I wanted to continue but couldn't anymore, all the fun had gone. All I could think about was survival. I completely lost myself."
Health first
The show's directors were supportive and sympathetic about the mental toll of the game. "The mind sees what it wants to see," De Coster said. "I know there are worse things happening in the world and this is 'just television', but seeing Philippe go through such a tough time has touched us all deeply."
The mole himself pushed past his limits, eager to succeed at his task, but eventually realised the danger. "Being healthy is more important than stroking your ego," Minguet said. "I fought to the last gasp, but I just couldn’t do it anymore."
Despite Minguet’s premature departure, it is not the end of the game. From next week, one of the six remaining participants will become the mole.
"You are going to play a completely new game with six people you already know," concludes De Coster concludes. "As a viewer, you can really focus on who is behaving differently."
