Carlos Javier Sobera Pardo (born 11 August 1960 in Barakaldo, Spain) is a Spanish actor, television presenter and former law lecturer.
Sobera has a law degree from the University of Deusto. He was a lecturer in Civil Law at the University of the Basque Country from 1987 to 1997. His first contact with the world of theatre was in 1980 when he created a group called La Espuela.
In 1994 he began working for the Basque regional TV (Euskal Telebista) being the screenwriter of Boulevard, a programme presented by Anne Igartiburu. He debuted as a presenter on Euskal Telebista as presenter of the monthly show Ciudadanos and then of the daily programme Arde la tarde.
In 1996 his film debut arrived when he starred with Imanol Arias in the Koldo Azkarreta film Rigor mortis. In 1997 he jumped to national television, presenting the programme PC Adictos on La 2. However, his fame and popularity would eventually come from the TV series Al salir de clase and Quítate tú para ponerme yo, both on Telecinco.
Since then he has become of one of the most popular TV presenters in Spain, hosting shows such as Cincuenta por quince from 1999 until 2001 and also its revival as ¿Quien quiere ser millonario? from 2005 until 2007, and Atrapa un millón, the Spanish version of The Million Pound Drop, until 2014. He also hosted Avanti ¡Que pase el siguiente!, the Spanish version of cult Italian show Avanti un Altro!, for a short period in 2012 on Antena 3, and the Spanish version of Let's Make a Deal for a short period in 2004. Sobera's trademark wiggling of his eyebrow on 50×15 when the contestants answered questions has always been associated with the format in Spain: Sobera often says that whilst people often say to him that they can do the eyebrow movement, he is the only person he knows who can do the movement with either one.
Carlos has been an ambassador for the aid organisation World Vision, which helps to promote education, justice, healthcare, economic development and relief to less well-off countries. He has visited Guatemala and Bolivia. As a former university professor, he has also lent his support to the Erasmus programme, which gives students from across Europe the opportunity to travel to and study in other European countries.
Since 2016 he has hosted dating show First Dates on Cuatro. He has also hosted local versions of The Wall, Big Brother and from 2021 until 2022 he hosted the local The Price Is Right. In late 2022, he will present the revival of the Spanish version of celebrity reality show The Farm.
TV career[]
| Years | Show | Channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Ciudadanos ("Citizens") | ETB | |
| Arde la tarde ("Burn the evening") | |||
| 1997 | PC Adictos ("PC Addicts") | La 2 (RTVE) | |
| 1997-98 | Al salir de clase ("Upon leaving school") | Telecinco | |
| 1998 | Quítate tú pa' poner yo ("Get out of the way to put me") | ||
| 1999-2001 | Cincuenta por Quince
50x15 ¿Quiere ser millonario? |
Local version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? | |
| 1999 | El señorío de Larrea (The Lord of Larrea) | ETB | |
| 2001 | Siete vidas ("Seven lives") | Telecinco | |
| 2002 | Ana y los siete ("Anna and the Seven") | La 1 | |
| Paraíso ("Paradise") | |||
| Doble juego ("Double game") | FORTA (Local stations) | ||
| 2002-09 | Date el bote ("Give yourself the prize") | ETB 2 | |
| 2003 | London Street | Antena 3 | |
| 2004 | ¿Hay trato? ("Is there a deal?") | Spanish version of "Let's Make a Deal" | |
| El supershow | Spanish version of "Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway" | ||
| 2005 | Números locos ("Crazy numbers") | ||
| 2005-08 | ¿Quién quiere ser millonario? ("Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?") | Spanish version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" | |
| 2006 | El show de los récords ("The records show") | ||
| El invento del siglo ("The invention of the century") | |||
| 2006-07 | Mi querido Klikowsky ("My darling Klikowski") | ETB | |
| 2007 | 1 contra 100 ("1 vs. 100") | Antena 3 | Spanish version of "1 vs. 100" |
| Jeopardy! | Spanish version of the U.S. quiz | ||
| 2008 | Canta! Singstar (Sing! Singstar) | La 1 | |
| 2009 | Los mejores años ("The best years) | ||
| 2010 | La lista ("The list") | La 2 | Spanish version of "The Rich List"/"Who Dares Wins" |
| Como si fuera ayer ("As if it were yesterday") | 7 Murcia | ||
| 2010-11 | Consumidores ("Consumers") | ETB 2 | |
| 2011-14 | Atrapa un millón ("Trap a million") | Antena 3 | Spanish version of "The Million Pound Drop" |
| 2011 | El tercero en discordia ("The odd man") | ||
| 2012 | Avanti ¡que pase el siguiente! (Avanti: Next One!") | Spanish version of "Avanti un Altro!" | |
| Cien × Cien ("Ten for Ten") | ETB 2 | ||
| 2013 | Increíbles: el gran desafio ("Incredibles: The Great Challenge") | Antena 3 | |
| 2014 | Con el culo al aire ("With the bum in the air") | ||
| 2015-16 | Cosmos | Mega | |
| 2016- | First Dates | Cuatro | Spanish version of the British dating show |
| 2016 | Eso lo hago yo ("I do this") | LaSexta | |
| 2017 | The Wall: Cambia tu vida ("The Wall: Change your life") | Telecinco | Spanish version of "The Wall" |
| 2017-18 | Little Big Show | ||
| 2018-21 | Volverte a ver ("To see you again") | ||
| 2019- | Supervivientes: Tierra de nadie ("Survivors: No man's land") | Telecinco / Cuatro | Spanish version of "Survivor" |
| 2019 | Gran Hermano VIP ("Big Brother VIP") | Spanish version of "Big Brother" | |
| 2020 | First Dates: Crucero ("First Dates: Cruise") | Cuatro | Spin-off of "First Dates" |
| La isla de las tentaciones ("The Island of Temptation") | Telecinco | Spanish version of "Temptation Island" | |
| 2021 | El precio justo ("The fair price") | Telecinco / Cuatro | Spanish version of "The Price is Right" |
| Ahora, Olga ("Now, Olga") | Telecinco | ||
| 2021-22 | Secret Story: La casa de los secretos ("Secret Story: The house of secrets") | Spanish version of the French "Big Brother" | |
| 2021-22 | Campanadas de fin de año ("New Year bells") | Telecinco / Cuatro | Telecinco's New Year coverage |
Trivia[]
- In 2005, he co-hosted the annual charity gala Inocente, inocente, which involves pranking celebrities with elaborate undercover stunts. He was pranked by the show in 2015, at a faked dinner at a posh restaurant, with actors as fellow guests.
- He has a daughter, Natalia, and lives in a 3,000m² villa in Colmenar Viejo, Madrid, with his second wife Patricia, Natalia and Arianna Aragón, Patricia's daughter from a previous marriage.
- Arianna's father is Rody Aragón, the cousin of TV host Emilio Aragón, who hosted the popular game show El gran juego de la oca in the 1990s.
- Arianna appeared as one of the models during Carlos' tenure as host of El precio justo (The Price is Right).
- Patricia and Carlos have been together since 2004, and got married in Mexico in 2015.
- Carlos was previously married to chemist Elena Casado from 1994 until 2002.
- Carlos has amassed a large property empire since rising to fame with 50×15. He purchased two flats for €1.8m each in Madrid, close to the Bernabéu stadium, and rents one of them out to Venezuelan celebrity Fabiola Martínez.
- Carlos formed the Arequipa Producciones theatre company in 2003, which his wife has managed since 2008. Arequipa's own productions made the company popular, and he bought the Queen Victoria Theatre in Madrid in 2016 for €7m. However, in 2018, the company suffered big losses, and Carlos sold the company for €9.4m. However, he still runs the theatre.
- Carlos has ventured into entrepreneurship, forming ten businesses. His main is his production company Cinco y Acción Producciones, worth an estimated €5m. His business consultancy firm, Natari Producciones, also helped run by his wife, also does well.
- His stationery firm Cuatro Elementos Editoriales, was liquidated in 2021 after losing €80,000 during COVID. His bookshop chain Huatulco suffered the same fate after losing €20,000 also due to the pandemic. He created children's entertainment production company Bonsai Producciones, yet this folded in 2016.
- He has two dogs called Pinki and Scott, and is a supporter of Atlético Madrid. He speaks fluent English, Spanish and a little French; but has admitted he cannot speak Basque.
- He enjoys photography in his spare time, especially taking photos in the Caribbean.
- Sobera was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in October 2011, which caused him to substantially change his eating habits.
- In 2013, he hosted teatime game show ¡Ahora Caígo! (Who's Still Standing?) for only one episode, standing in for Arturo Valls.
- In a 2008 interview, Carlos joked he was the antithesis of the Basque stereotype, joking that he was "a Basque man who isn't Rh-positive, who doesn't speak Basque, who doesn't know how to swim, and doesn't like cod."
- Carlos was offered the hosting job on Gran Hermano in 2002, but turned it down, saying that Mercedes Milà had made the show her own.
Sources[]
- "All in this programme look for suspense": Interview with Carlos Sobera, presenter of the TP de Oro-winning game show ¿Quiere ser millonario? - La Vanguardia (28/01/2000)
- "When I travel, what I like most is to integrate myself with people." - La Vanguardia (24/02/2011)
| Preceded by N/A |
Spanish Host Carlos Sobera |
Succeeded by Antonio Garrido |