As One Night Stand is set to add Antonella Elia to its list of super special guests and interviewees, Iggy Fenech chats to the Italian television personality and actress about her past successes, her future plans and about being a role model for the past 20 years.
I still remember the day Non è la RAI ended. Having fallen ill, I had tucked myself into bed and was flicking through channels when, all of a sudden, a group of crying women appeared on my screen. It looked emotional, but at seven years old I didn’t realise that it was actually the end of an era for Italian television.
Presented by the likes of Enrica Bonaccorti, Paolo Bonolis and Ambra Angiolini, Non è la RAI ran from 1991 to 1995 and achieved a cult-like success that still makes it one of the most popular television programmes for Mediaset and Italian television in general to date. It has also spawned many recognisable names in the industry, including Antonella Elia, who was recently in Malta filming for an episode of Owen Bonnici’s hit TV chat show One Night Stand.
Antonella’s career did neither end nor begin with Non è la RAI, however, and she has had success in film, on TV and even on stage. Her popularity, particularly with the generation that grew up with her smiling from the other side of the tube, cannot be disputed. As such, she is also held as a role model by many in Italy as well as abroad.
“Although Non è la RAI was a journey that led me to an elevated level of fame – which I’m obviously very thankful for – it, honestly, didn’t mean that much to me on a personal level,” says Antonella.
“It was a fun journey while it lasted, but that was about it. Over the years, I have come to realise that what matters in life and in your career is that you make the right decisions,” she adds. “Foster your talents and work hard. I, for one, am always trying to better myself at acting, singing and dancing.”
Antonella has definitely followed her words to a T and her television and film careers have not only kept her in the spotlight, but have also proved that she is a woman who, as she describes herself, “is very willing to try new things”.
I wouldn’t mind making Malta my home!
Born in Turin in 1963, Antonella was a model before making her television debut in 1989 in the mini-series I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) at the age of 26. Since then, she’s been Corrado Mantoni’s assistant on Canale 5’s La Corrida and the sidekick to Raimondo Vianello, the legendary Italian presenter, on a show for Italia 1. She is also well known for her roles in the films Nature Unleashed: Volcano (2005) and in Buona Fortuna (2009). More than that she is remembered for her jubilant and philanthropic victory in one of Italy’s best-loved reality television shows.
Having first taken part in L’Isola dei Famosi (Italy’s answer to I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!) in 2004, Antonella returned to the show in 2012. She went on to win the grand prize of €100,000, which was donated to Amnesty International, the NGO with a focus on human rights that she has supported for years.
“I think that if you’re someone’s role model – even if it’s just for one person – you have the responsibility of being a good role model,” says Antonella. “That, in my opinion, needs to be done by projecting the right values.”
Notwithstanding, Antonella’s life and career rarely go out of the tabloids, and from pictures of her sunbathing in a bikini – as you would – to interviews about why she never became a mother, each mention makes Antonella even more of a fixture in Italy’s ever-changing celebrity culture where show girls rise and presenters fall on a weekly basis.
“I don’t know how to define myself, but I’m quite proud to call myself an artist,” says Antonella. “Having said that, I don’t really know if there is anything that people would or wouldn’t assume about me, really… Maybe they’ll be surprised to find out that I have no television-related projects coming up, who knows!”
She does, however, have a theatre production coming up in Italy. And, importantly for us, she is going to be on Tuesday’s edition of ONE’s One Night Stand where she will join the myriad of Maltese and foreign personalities who have graced the show’s sofa, including Amy Winehouse’s mother and the Maltese President.
“One Night Stand is a wonderful programme and the space and crew made me feel incredibly welcome. Owen, in particular, is fantastic!” says Antonella. “It’s also a programme that has allowed me to tell my story to the Maltese and for that I’m truly grateful.”
“This, however, is not my first time in Malta,” says Antonella. “I was here some 15 years ago and I fell in love with the island. It’s such a beautiful country, with some truly magical qualities… In fact, I wouldn’t mind making it my home.”
Antonella Elia’s One Night Stand episode will air on ONE on Tuesday at 9.30pm.