Gijs Naber spotted in disguise at Grave rehearsals, fuelling speculation he is the new Sinterklaas adviser

Preparations for the Amsterdam intocht

About 200 pieten gathered in late October at the OBA Theater, on the top floor of the Amsterdam library at the Oosterdokskade, for a briefing the organisers call the secret briefing. There the helpers tried on their costumes, were told what to bring and were drilled on the do's and don'ts of a good piet. Over 1,100 volunteers have worked since September on lunch packs, floats, boat and van transport, security, the website and packing sweets. Stichting Sinterklaas in Amsterdam runs the event, which it has organised for 88 years.

This year's Amsterdam intocht combines a boat trip with a parade on foot. If the plan holds, the Sint leaves by steamboat from De Omval in the morning and arrives on horseback at the Leidseplein in the afternoon. Actor Mark van Eeuwen is playing the Sint under the mitre this year. The Amsterdam intocht takes place on 15 November. Among the helpers is Yassin Fernanda Gonçalves (20), an applied biology student taking part as a piet for the first time. Kamila Dudkova (46), who lives in Amsterdam and comes from the Czech Republic, was contacted by email earlier this year by the Hoofdpiet to help out, and her son already knew about it.

Who is the new adviser

Gijs Naber (46) appears to be the successor to Stefan de Walle as the adviser to the Sint in the Sinterklaasjournaal, after De Walle announced earlier this year that he was stopping. On Friday 13 November he was seen at the general rehearsals in Grave, where the national intocht is held on Saturday 14 November and broadcast on NPO 3 from 12.00. Images shared on social media and by the SintTalk blog show Naber in a cap and glasses between actors Owen Schumacher and Jochem Myjer and Sinterklaasjournaal reporter Stephanie van Eer.

AD reports that Naber wore a black jacket and cap from NEP The Netherlands, a company that handles live television broadcasts among other work, along with earpieces and a walkie-talkie. He turned away whenever he saw a camera. Mayor Marieke Moorman walked the route through the centre with Owen Schumacher and Naber alongside her. Telegraaf also reports a theory that Erik van Muiswinkel (65), who has played hoofdpiet before, could be the new figure, after a shot of toy mice appeared in a recent episode.

Why the reveal has not come yet

Omroep NTR has declined to say who the new adviser will be. The first broadcast of the new season on Monday 9 November was expected to reveal the identity, but it did not. The programme drew two consecutive viewing records, with more than 2.3 million viewers recorded on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November. Hints in the series included a mysterious motorcyclist seen in several episodes. Viewers linked him to Naber, who played a motorcycle gang leader in the series Suga: Ride or die and is known as a keen rider. Naber also avoided the press at the red-carpet premiere of the film Carnaval on Monday 9 November.

What comes next

Telegraaf writes that the person behind the mitre will become known during the national intocht broadcast on NPO 3 from 12.00 on Saturday 14 November. Until then NTR has confirmed nothing beyond the first-broadcast delay, and the Sinterklaasjournaal's own hints remain the only public clues.