Unfortunately, few of today's youth can recall one of the most talented and beautiful television presenters of the 90s of the last century. But Alla Volkova was just that. It is worth noting that during its popularity, the attitude to television was completely different than today. The lack of satellite channels and digital counterparts created an information deficit.
That is why the light entertainment “Love at First Sight”, the first host of which was the heroine of our article, was very popular among viewers.
Mysterious host of the program
At a time when the Internet as such was not there, and the yellow press did not publish various gossip and speculation about the stars as freely as today, the lives of actors and presenters who addressed the viewer from blue screens were really a mystery.
Information about this TV presenter and to date in the public domain is provided a little. It is known that Alla was born in 1955. She is an English teacher by education. Alla Volkova was always interested in the general public, and information about the personal life of the presenter was never advertised.
And since people always need to discuss something, and even more so, the general atmosphere on the set of “Love at First Sight” seemed very romantic, the rumor immediately attributed the leading novel with her broadcast colleague.
Invented novel between two leading
Along with the young people who came to the program to find their soul mate, the audience arbitrarily came up with another pair of “Boris Kryuk and Alla Volkova”. This duo was even credited with a wedding. Apparently, people liked to think that a pair of young, talented, and in love with each other people helps find lovers in the participants of their television program. And only many years later, in one of her interviews, Alla Volkova, a TV presenter, denied such gossip, firmly declaring that there was never any romance between him and Boris.
How did Volkova get to Love at First Sight?
But a rather interesting fact is that Alla was able to get on the program beloved by thousands of viewers as a presenter, largely thanks to the mother of Boris Hook - Natalia Stetsenko. At that time, Alla Volkova already had some relation to television. In 1979, she worked in the youth edition of the program called “What?” Where? When?". At this time, the TV company Game TV decides to release on the domestic screen an analogue of the English entertainment show under the original name Love at first sight. Thus, the program “Love at First Sight” appeared on the post-Soviet air.
The decision about who will be the presenters was made by Vladimir Voroshilov (far from the last person in the TV company “Game”) and his wife Natalya Stetsenko (mother of Boris Kryuk). It was she who proposed to take on the role of co-host to her son the girl from the editorial office, which turned out to be Alla Volkova.
Preparing for filming
When Boris Kryuk and Alla Volkova began preparing for the broadcasts, it turned out that in the post-Soviet space there was practically no experience in running such programs and what exactly was required from the hosts was not entirely clear. For this reason, the shooting of the first program took place in London, where foreign colleagues shared their experience with the leaders of the newly made program.
It is worth noting that the British experts and the next few years supported the creators of the Russian version of the program, since Russian television was not quite ready for the filming of a show of this level. It is worth recalling that “Love at First Sight” was first aired in 1991. By that moment, as Alla Volkova herself recalls, the local television center did not even have a computer, and the equipment that was used in the work was 1960-1970. All the necessary television team was supplied by foreign colleagues.
Legendary Game Rules
For the post-Soviet era, the idea and format of the broadcast were very unusual and quite interesting. At the first stage, 6 people took part in the show: three guys and three girls. Leading began to ask players various interesting, and sometimes a little tricky questions. At the same time, the participants could not see each other. They could form their idea of other players solely on the basis of the answers they heard.
Further, they were invited to determine their sympathy and click on the button for selecting a particular participant. Only after the choice was perfect did the boys and girls see each other. If the choice of participants blindly was mutual, then a kind of pair formation took place. And this couple could continue to further participate in the game. After filming, young people who chose each other went to a restaurant in order to chat and get to know each other better. On the second day of filming, the couple returned, and the presenters suggested that they again answer questions that this time were not of a general nature, but related to each chosen one in the pair. For example, the guy had to answer how the girl would behave in a particular situation.
For each correct answer, the couple received in the form of a reward the opportunity to make one shot on the computer. In the studio there was a large screen with hearts, under which were hidden various prizes (gifts for the newlyweds). The romantic trip was considered the main prize, and the more shots the couple earned with their correct answers, the more significantly the chances of winning the main prize increased.
Intrigue and some tension on the air brought the fact that in one of the sectors hid "Broken Heart". If a couple got into it, the game for them immediately ended.
Distributed Images and Roles
When the program was in the development process, there were practically no requirements for the presenters, since no one had the slightest idea about how to conduct a romantic entertaining show. All that Boris and Alla did on the set was purely improvisation.
Volkova and Hook created the impression of a very harmonious pair of presenters. Their screen images perfectly complemented each other. Boris has always been distinguished by intelligence and subtle humor, while it is worth noting that his jokes never had anything to do with sarcasm or irony. He was the personification of the mind and resourcefulness. Alla Volkova should have had a lighter, more feminine type. She always knew how to attract the attention of viewers, each air appearing in new outfits and changing hairstyles.
Over time, the stylists made her blonde, but at the same time, it is worth noting that Alla Volkova is a presenter who never looked vulgar or stupid. When the girl was preparing to release the program, knowing that the program would mainly be devoted to relations between men and women, she read a lot of specialized literature, studied the works of Freud and even went to psychology courses.
For competent creation of a high-quality on-air image, Alla Volkova herself in today's interviews often thanks the program stylist Alexander Shevchuk. It was from his submission for the host that fashionable, beautiful and very elegant outfits were selected. Also, it was Shevchuk who always picked up a new hairstyle and makeup for Volkova. Moreover, he knew how to change the images of Alla so masterly and radically that sometimes colleagues on the site could recognize Volkova only by voice.
Transmission closing
This program went on air for almost 8 years, which represents a very long time for an entertainment show. When the program closed, the reasons for this began to grow into legends. In fact, everything was trite. The last actual shootings took place in 1998, while there was a crisis in the yard. The cost of the transfer cost its creator a fairly large amount, and this was largely due to expensive scenery and the use of computer equipment.
Over time, “Love at First Sight” began to appear on the screens less and less. In one of his interviews, Boris Kryuk, recalling those times, said that the closing of the program was quite logical and happened by mutual agreement of all parties involved in the creation of the show.
Personal life of Volkova
This host never put on display his personal life. But apparently, Alla was not boring with her, because from various publications it becomes clear that she had only three official marriages.
It is known that the musician Igor Ivannikov became her last husband. It is also known that from a previous marriage, the TV presenter has two already adult sons.
Where is Alla Volkova now?
After the closure of “Love at First Sight”, Alla Volkova (whose biography was never advertised in detail) did not cease to interest loyal viewers. Unlike her colleague Boris, she did not appear in the new program, and many thought that she had ceased to have anything to do with television at all. But in fact, Volkova for many years quite successfully continues to cooperate with the TV company “Game TV” and a producer center of the same name. She is the program director and editor-in-chief of programs such as Cultural Revolution and What? Where? When?".