Les Grosses Têtes

Les Grosses Têtes is a comedy and general knowledge radio show on RTL hosted by Laurent Ruquier that began in 1977. Episodes bring together a rotating panel of humorists and public figures to answer trivia questions and trade unscripted jokes.

Program executives Jean Farran and Roger Kreicher created the radio show for RTL, airing the premiere on April 1, 1977. Journalist Philippe Bouvard served as the principal host, leading the daily afternoon show for 37 years. In late August 2000, station management replaced Bouvard with Christophe Dechavanne, but declining listener figures prompted RTL to bring Bouvard back in February 2001. Bouvard continued hosting until his retirement from the show in 2014, when Laurent Ruquier took over the microphone alongside a renewed cast of panelists.

Each daily episode gathers six guest panelists who answer cultural questions submitted by listeners or devised by the editorial staff. Panelists ask questions of the host to deduce historical facts, literary anecdotes, or obscure words. A long-running segment called La valise RTL challenges listeners to guess the exact financial jackpot or mystery items accumulated inside a theoretical suitcase. Ruquier added regular games such as identifying true stories among invented fake news items and phone challenges where listeners guess newsmaker identities.

Television adaptations expanded the reach of the franchise, beginning with anniversary specials on Antenne 2 in 1985 and a Saturday evening adaptation on TF1 that ran from 1992 to 1997. France 2 aired prime-time television specials under Ruquier between 2015 and 2023. Special recordings occurred outside Paris studios, including a 10,000th episode celebration at the Opéra-Comique in 2004 and a 30th anniversary evening live show from the Eiffel Tower in 2007. Spin-off releases include multiple joke books, board games, and audio compilations sold across French-speaking Europe.