Martine Jonckheere on a ‘painful’ farewell to ‘Family’: ‘After my last recording, everyone suddenly disappeared’

Martine Jonkheere’s last recordings are back in January. It was her last day in the studio with Kurt Rogers and Sandrine André, who play Lars and Veronique respectively. “I had a strange feeling, because right after the shooting everyone seemed to have disappeared,” says the actress. “I was able to put that into perspective, because I actually experienced it after I had cancer. Even then I had the impression that some people avoided me. What do you say to someone who has lost her breast? Or is it just getting rid of it, as it is now?” Jonckheere has cancer Breast in 2006 and has been treated.

No one said goodbye

Then the actress left the studio alone without saying goodbye. Fortunately, another two days of shooting followed. The fire scenes in which the characters of Martin and Gunther Levi died were filmed on location. “But because a recording had to be made after me, unfortunately I could not say goodbye to anyone,” it seems.

Furthermore, Jonkheere injured himself during those recordings. When a firefighter picked up the actress to save her from a fire, she suddenly felt excruciating pain. “I heard my ribs crack,” the actress explains. “However, I was not allowed to show anything, as it was assumed that I was unconscious.”

Fortunately, the actress also has positive memories of her last shooting day. The young nurse who had to revive Mary Rose became emotional during the recordings. A colleague asked that boy: Are you crying now? The young man said to him: Yes, how am I going to explain to my grandmother that I am unable to revive Mary Rose? I found this very moving.” Jonckheere says she is at peace with her class, unlike the last time she was taken out of the series. “While I was totally devastated last time around, I can now put everything into perspective and give it a place.”