Walk-off on live television

Alba Carrillo left the set of El sótano club, the magazine programme on TEN, in tears during the live broadcast on Thursday, 15 October, without giving an explanation. Her colleagues Laura del Val and Jorge Yorya tried to cover for her by saying she was unwell, and Alberto Guzmán took over the programme until it ended. Hours later she appeared at a presentation of La Séptima, a new national DTT channel due to begin broadcasting on 5 November, and confirmed she was leaving El sótano club. According to ABC, colleagues learned of the decision from that presentation and were blocked on social media afterwards, while sources close to the team insisted she had not been dismissed.

TEN cancels the next broadcast

TEN cancelled the programme scheduled for 16 October, which was meant to be Carrillo's final episode. In a social media post, the channel said changes were coming to the show and that it needed time to work on them. It promised the programme would return on Monday, 19 October. The 16 October episode had been due to host Andy, of the duo Andy y Lucas, and it is not yet clear whether that interview will air at a later date. Marta Riesco and Alberto Guzmán have presented the show during earlier absences by Carrillo, and the channel has not said who will front it when it returns.

Carrillo's account

In a live Instagram broadcast, Carrillo said the decision to leave was hers and that she had not been dismissed. She said she had told the programme's management about three weeks earlier that she would not continue, because she felt overwhelmed by trying to combine both projects. Her account differs from the reports that colleagues only learned of her decision on 15 October. She said she understood TEN's decision to cancel the episode because the channel needed to restructure. She also said the departure hurt because she could not say goodbye on air.

“It hurts that I could not say goodbye.”

Carrillo also said the demands of the two jobs left her exhausted and that she was missing time with her teenage son. She described El sótano club as a project that had been built with her, and she said she had been happy and had learned a great deal while presenting it.

A move to La Séptima

La Séptima is a new channel led by Javier Ruiz, and Carrillo will present a weekend show called 'Fuera de control' alongside Marta Márquez. At the presentation at the Ateneo de Madrid, Carrillo said the new channel was her priority.

“For me, La Séptima is the future.”

Carrillo's departure from El sótano club ends her run as the programme's presenter. TEN has said the show will return on Monday, 19 October, but it has not named a new presenter.