Ángeles Blanco is now ready to say goodbye to 2024 and welcome 2025 live with Telecinco viewers. This year, the news journalist is in charge, together with Ricardo Reyes, of leading the broadcast for viewers in Canarian time, which can be followed throughout the country. We spoke with her about this special television moment, that night, the ritual she would like to do and her future on the Mediaset network after 32 years of experience.

What was that call like when they suggested giving the Chimes?

I’m crazy happy. Well, look, this year I have been coming to Lanzarote a lot, because we have been doing several ‘Planes Cuatro’ spaces and it is true that a special bond was created there that must have been transferred, because suddenly the Chimes emerged. I also suppose that my name was put on the table because it is known that I always come to the Canary Islands at Christmas.

Did you have any doubts about accepting this proposal?

They asked me recently and I said no.’ Then I thought maybe I should have measured and thought, ‘My God, that’s scary.’ But no, the fear starts now. It already weighed on me a little at the press conference, when I saw myself sitting in Lanzarote with the authorities of the island, with the directors of the house and my colleagues. There I began to become aware and I said: “My God, it’s real” (Laughs).

What are you afraid of, Angels?

To be wrong. Maybe it turns out that I’ll die of panic (Laughs). I belong to a generation of Chimes that happened many years ago, that the presenter invited us to take the Chimes in the rooms. And then, all of us who were at home eating the grapes that year were wrong. And that marked me so much that every year, even though I’m at home with my family, eating the grapes, I always get nervous. And I always ask everyone, are these the rooms? And then they have to tell me, ‘no, no, no, not yet’ (Laughs). So that it doesn’t happen to me, I’m going to study a lot, I’m going to rehearse at home in front of the mirror and I also have Ricardo Reyes, so everything will be fine.

Despite these fears, you transmit enthusiasm…

It is a very beautiful moment. For Christmas I am very childish. I live it with great enthusiasm and emotional power. And New Year’s Eve too. For me, this change of year has a lot of symbolism and I like to be baptized in the sea. It seems like such a unique moment that being the one who has the opportunity to accompany people in this new year is incredible for me. And then there is a very nice thing that I was talking about with my colleague from Informativos Telecinco here in the Canary Islands. Giving the Canarian Chimes and being able to accompany especially all the Canary Islands in the peninsula is wonderful.

And are you going to bring the family?

Of course, we have been spending Christmas in the Canary Islands for more than a decade, specifically 12 years. So the news for us would be that they would stay in Madrid. We are going to continue with our particular tradition.

You could do the baptism live…

Don’t give ideas. Don’t give ideas! But it’s true, it would appear in all the media for sure (Laughs).

Had you worked with Ricardo Reyes before?

Not hand in hand, but the relationship between us is very good. It’s a piece of bread. Apart from being a great professional, he is such a great guy that, ever since they told both of us about the bells and no one knew, we passed each other in the hallways and smiled knowingly at each other. We owed each other messages in code that no one understood… they looked at us strangely (Laughs).

Do you have any rituals in the minutes beforehand that you want to keep this year?

Remove the seeds, but who knows, maybe while making the Chimes I will discover that I have some more hobby. For me it is also beautiful to get out of what is my usual informative image. I am much more clownish and spontaneous than I seem. Having the opportunity at that moment to be more myself seems fantastic and to get out of my comfort zone.

And how do you value the Chimes of Pedroche?

She has managed to create a style and a way of transmitting the Chimes. This on television and it has a lot of merit. I think it’s very good that Pedroche has been making her dresses, but this year I think there won’t be as much interest… because at Mediaset we are going to transmit happiness.

Could this be the first step towards a jump into entertainment and for us to see that more clownish vein. Would you like to jump into entertainment?

Do you know what happens? When I started in this I wanted to be a war correspondent. I also wanted to work in radio,’ but TV got in my way. In the end, as one has already turned a few years old, you realize that destiny is going to lay down the tiles that you walk through. Now I am very comfortable in news. We have opened a new stage, with a radical change not only in the decoration, but also in the concept and in the way of telling the news. And I’m enjoying it, I think it shows. I have been at Informativos Telecinco for 31 years now and we have once again had new challenges, such as the coverage of the DANA tragedy or the special on the American elections, which lasted all night. This halo has been very good.

How do you handle the competition with Vicente Valles?

Well, with very good vibes. In the end it is our medium, both he and I have been working on this our entire lives. We have presented together, then on different channels, but normally. Maybe sometimes we call each other at the end of the day and make the joke of, ‘And what do you open with?’ and we laughed a lot, which in the end is also the logical way to do things.