Juan Echanove slams Cuéntame exit as 'a shitty thing' in emotional TV interview
Spanish actor Juan Echanove, known for playing Miguel Alcántara on the long-running TV series Cuéntame cómo pasó, has revealed his anger at the abrupt way his character was killed off, calling it 'a shitty thing'.
Echanove breaks his silence
Spanish actor Juan Echanove appeared on the La Sexta programme La noche de Aimar on 10 June 2026 and for the first time publicly discussed his departure from the iconic RTVE series Cuéntame cómo pasó. The series, which ended on 29 November 2023 after 23 seasons and 413 episodes, had been a cornerstone of Spanish television for over two decades. Echanove played Miguel Alcántara, the charismatic older brother of protagonist Antonio, for 12 years until his character was suddenly killed off in season 18.
The narrative reasons they gave me... those are things you hear at the start of a season, not from one day to the next when they tell you, 'Wait, don't go home, we're going to kill you [the character].' That is not a narrative reason, that's a shitty thing.
A death out of the blue
Miguel Alcántara died on-screen on 18 May 2017, suffering a fatal heart attack in the fictional town of Sagrillas, falling into his brother Antonio's arms after rescuing his daughter Diana. Echanove said he learned of his character's fate suddenly, without warning. "At no point do I regret having done Cuéntame, quite the opposite, and I am deeply grateful to that series," he said. Echanove also acknowledged that leaving the show opened new doors: "Thanks to leaving Cuéntame I have done an amount of work afterwards that is without doubt the most interesting stretch of my life. You have to accept it with naturalness and sportsmanship."
- Miguel Alcántara dies of a heart attack in season 18
- Cuéntame cómo pasó ends after 23 seasons and 413 episodes
- Juan Echanove tells Aimar Bretos his exit 'was not handled well' and calls it 'a putada'
A surprise message from Ricardo Gómez
The emotional peak of the interview came when host Aimar Bretos played a pre-recorded message from actor Ricardo Gómez, who played Carlitos on Cuéntame and has been Echanove's close friend since Gómez was seven years old.
I've experienced countless things with Juan. I've known him since I was seven years old: theatre tours, trips, nights in hotels... What I've learned the most is to wake up every day and enjoy life. That feeling of being a 'disfrutón' I learned from him above all. And I want to highlight how he looks at the theatre, how he makes it the most important thing in his life.
Echanove was visibly moved to tears and exclaimed,
That fucking kid has got me all emotional.
He then recounted his first meeting with Gómez and two other child actors playing football in the corridors of the set: "I opened my dressing-room door and told them, 'You are not kids, you are actors and we are resting.'"
Twelve whiskies for twelve years
After leaving the series, Echanove returned home during a difficult period to find a large box with a letter from Gómez. Inside were twelve bottles of whisky. "That is one of the most beautiful presents I have ever been given in my life," he said. Echanove described Gómez as "one of my best friends" and cherished the gesture.
