Petter Pilgaard
Encyclopedia
Petter Andre Pilgaard is a Norwegian
television celebrity
who gained national fame during the first season of the Norwegian version of Paradise Hotel
, the reality television
show with a heavy emphasis on sex
and eroticism
featuring young adults
of both genders. He won the competition together with Benedicte Valen, and the two shared the NOK 300,000 (about USD 50,000) prize money.
Pilgaard who hails from Stabekk
in Bærum
, an affluent suburb west of the Norwegian capital, has previously worked as a financial adviser
, and since November 2009 he has held a job as co-host on NRJ Radio
's morning program.
Following his rise to fame Pilgaard has been a frequent guest in television entertainment shows such as 4-stjerners middag halv åtte ("4 Star Dinner at Half Past Seven") on TV Norge and Torsdag Kveld fra Nydalen ("Thursday night from Nydalen"), Lurt av Karlsen (a Norwegian version of the American hidden camera show Punk'd) and Trygdekontoret.
and Verdens Gang
. The Dagbladet article titled "Champagneklubben" (The Champagne Club) documented the trendy club life centering on Oslo westside's Solli plass
, comparing the area with Stockholm
's Stureplan
, where the rich and beautiful get VIP privileges when visiting bars and nightclubs. Pilgaard was quoted stating that the most exclusive venue, La Belle Sole, has his name engraved on a brass sign, ready to clear his table in the VIP section and bring out champagne and strawberries
when he and his entourage arrive. Following Pilgaard's appearance on Paradise Hotel this type of coverage has become quite frequent with his name being mentioned in mainstream media in connection with outrageous partying in Oslo
's nightclub
s.
The producer of the Paradise Hotel stated during the first season, in the spring of 2009, that it would be close to impossible to put together a group of contestants without some people knowing each other from earlier, already at that time citing Petter Pilgaard's vast network of nightlife acquaintances.
, but ahead of the prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg
.
Pilgaard who hates books has nevertheless become famous for his use of the Norwegian language
in that he has introduced several little known or original terms to a wider audience, such as "skumpa" and "druse". The latter even inspired standup comic Odd-Magnus Williamson to write the song "Vi druser på". Pilgaard's performances during the first season of Paradise Hotel had also been a recurring theme in Williamson's standup routine.
Pilgaard had initially decided not to associate himself with the series following his involvement in the first season, however, as his girlfriend is the make-up artist for the show's host, Triana Iglesias
, he changed his mind and was a co-host the second season, The two became a couple during the summer of 2009 and their romance immediately became a favourite subject of the tabloid
media. It even spawned a minor series, Petter elsker Mari (Petter loves Mari) on the women-oriented satellite TV channel TV 2 Bliss
. The couple knew each other also before Paradise Hotel and reportedly have many common friends.
In 2010 Petter Pilgaard told the newspaper Verdens Gang that he did not think reality show participants in general, and himself in particular, deserved the celebrity status they were afforded. With obvious reference to his own hallmark traits he stated: "It is totally crazy that someone could become a celebrity from one day to the next by getting drunk, talk about shagging and present rhymes."
ers from Bærum, Mikkel Bang among them, released a music video mocking the celebrity image of Petter Pilgaard. The video which was published on the Norwegian snowboarding website tacky.no features some fairly scornful characterizatons of Pilgaard who commented that he had previously been associated with the monoski
community in Bærum. The one-time performers and producers of the video stated to the media that they were offered to make the video for free and that there were no ill feelings behind the video. It was simply intended as a humorous stunt.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
television celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
who gained national fame during the first season of the Norwegian version of Paradise Hotel
Paradise Hotel
The first season of Paradise Hotel aired on Fox from June 18, 2003 to October 1, 2003 with thirty episodes and was hosted by Amanda Byram. A similar show called Forever Eden was produced the following year...
, the reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show with a heavy emphasis on sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
and eroticism
Eroticism
Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
featuring young adults
Young adult (psychology)
A young adult, according to Erik Erikson's stages of human development, is generally a person between the age of 20 - 40, whereas an adolescent is a person between the age of 13 - 19, although definitions and opinions vary. The young adult stage in human development precedes middle adulthood. A...
of both genders. He won the competition together with Benedicte Valen, and the two shared the NOK 300,000 (about USD 50,000) prize money.
Pilgaard who hails from Stabekk
Stabekk
Stabekk is a suburban centre in the municipality of Bærum, Norway. Mainly a residential area and have most of the conservative population in Norway the current population is 6,261....
in Bærum
Bærum
is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandvika. Bærum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. A suburb of Oslo, Bærum is located on the west coast of the city....
, an affluent suburb west of the Norwegian capital, has previously worked as a financial adviser
Financial adviser
A financial adviser, is a professional who renders financial services to individuals, businesses and governments. This can involve investment advice, which may include pension planning, and/or advice on life insurance and other insurances such as income protection insurance, critical illness...
, and since November 2009 he has held a job as co-host on NRJ Radio
NRJ Radio
NRJ French multimedia group based in Paris. Since its foundation in 1981 as a French pop music radio station it has grown and evolved to become the NRJ Group...
's morning program.
Following his rise to fame Pilgaard has been a frequent guest in television entertainment shows such as 4-stjerners middag halv åtte ("4 Star Dinner at Half Past Seven") on TV Norge and Torsdag Kveld fra Nydalen ("Thursday night from Nydalen"), Lurt av Karlsen (a Norwegian version of the American hidden camera show Punk'd) and Trygdekontoret.
Famous for his party life
In October 2008 the radio show Verkligheten i P3 ("The Real Life in P3") on Swedish national radio P3 ran a documentary about the nightlife trend wave moving from Stockholm to Oslo where Petter Pilgaard was profiled. In the show the host claimed that Pilgaard in 2007 spent more than one million Norwegian kroner on his exuberant partying. This then became the source for a couple of articles in two of Norway's highest circulation newspapers, DagbladetDagbladet
Dagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....
and Verdens Gang
Verdens Gang
Verdens Gang , generally known under the abbreviation VG, is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper...
. The Dagbladet article titled "Champagneklubben" (The Champagne Club) documented the trendy club life centering on Oslo westside's Solli plass
Solli plass
Solli plass, also called Lapsetorvet, is a square in Oslo, Norway, located southwest of Slottsparken and the Royal Palace.The square is elliptical in shape. In the southwest lies the National Library of Norway. Further east are several commercial buildings, and the headquarters of the Federation of...
, comparing the area with Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
's Stureplan
Stureplan
Stureplan is a high-end public square in central Stockholm, between Norrmalm and Östermalm. The square connects the major streets Kungsgatan, Birger Jarlsgatan and Sturegatan...
, where the rich and beautiful get VIP privileges when visiting bars and nightclubs. Pilgaard was quoted stating that the most exclusive venue, La Belle Sole, has his name engraved on a brass sign, ready to clear his table in the VIP section and bring out champagne and strawberries
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
when he and his entourage arrive. Following Pilgaard's appearance on Paradise Hotel this type of coverage has become quite frequent with his name being mentioned in mainstream media in connection with outrageous partying in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
's nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s.
The producer of the Paradise Hotel stated during the first season, in the spring of 2009, that it would be close to impossible to put together a group of contestants without some people knowing each other from earlier, already at that time citing Petter Pilgaard's vast network of nightlife acquaintances.
Public interest in his personal life
A testimony to his fame among the Norwegian public came in October 2009 as the Norwegian tax listings were made public online, an annual occurrence which causes a lot of people to check up on the income of their neighbours and also well-known people. "Pilgaard" was the second most queried term, after Norway's wealthiest man, Kjell Inge RøkkeKjell Inge Røkke
Kjell Inge Røkke is a Norwegian businessman and among the richest people in Norway, controlling the Norwegian company Aker Solutions...
, but ahead of the prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg
Jens Stoltenberg
is a Norwegian politician, leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and the current Prime Minister of Norway. Having assumed office on 17 October 2005, Stoltenberg previously served as Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001....
.
Pilgaard who hates books has nevertheless become famous for his use of the Norwegian language
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
in that he has introduced several little known or original terms to a wider audience, such as "skumpa" and "druse". The latter even inspired standup comic Odd-Magnus Williamson to write the song "Vi druser på". Pilgaard's performances during the first season of Paradise Hotel had also been a recurring theme in Williamson's standup routine.
Pilgaard had initially decided not to associate himself with the series following his involvement in the first season, however, as his girlfriend is the make-up artist for the show's host, Triana Iglesias
Triana Iglesias
Triana Iglesias Holten is a Norwegian model and burlesque artist, born in 1982, of Norwegian and Spanish descent. She has been a cover girl of FHM and Slitz and she has also appeared in Playboy's online edition....
, he changed his mind and was a co-host the second season, The two became a couple during the summer of 2009 and their romance immediately became a favourite subject of the tabloid
Tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news...
media. It even spawned a minor series, Petter elsker Mari (Petter loves Mari) on the women-oriented satellite TV channel TV 2 Bliss
TV 2 Bliss
TV 2 Bliss is a Norwegian television channel designed for a mostly female audience....
. The couple knew each other also before Paradise Hotel and reportedly have many common friends.
In 2010 Petter Pilgaard told the newspaper Verdens Gang that he did not think reality show participants in general, and himself in particular, deserved the celebrity status they were afforded. With obvious reference to his own hallmark traits he stated: "It is totally crazy that someone could become a celebrity from one day to the next by getting drunk, talk about shagging and present rhymes."
Anti-Pilgaard music video
In June 2009 three snowboardSnowboard
Snowboards are boards, usually with a width the length of one's foot, with the ability to glide on snow. Snowboards are differentiated from monoskis by the stance of the user...
ers from Bærum, Mikkel Bang among them, released a music video mocking the celebrity image of Petter Pilgaard. The video which was published on the Norwegian snowboarding website tacky.no features some fairly scornful characterizatons of Pilgaard who commented that he had previously been associated with the monoski
Monoski
The term monoski may refer to either of two unrelated pieces of ski equipment. It is the device used in the sport of monoskiing.The monoski, invented in the 1960s and popularized in the 1970s and '80s by monoskiers like Mike Doyle, is similar to a snowboard in that both feet are attached to one...
community in Bærum. The one-time performers and producers of the video stated to the media that they were offered to make the video for free and that there were no ill feelings behind the video. It was simply intended as a humorous stunt.