Fabio Fazio returned to Rai on Thursday, appearing as a guest judge on the network's talent show Tale e Quale Show, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano. The host, Carlo Conti, welcomed him back, and the appearance mixed joking exchanges with a standing ovation from the audience, the paper reported.
Il Fatto Quotidiano described the tone as ironic, citing a back-and-forth in which Conti asked Fazio to do a Bruno Vespa imitation and Fazio shot back with a line about falling down the stairs. The same account noted the ovation that followed.
The return drew attention because of Fazio's history with the broadcaster. Il Messaggero, in a profile of the presenter, recalled that he left Rai and now works elsewhere, making his reappearance on a Rai1 program notable. Vanity Fair Italia framed the moment as a comeback engineered through Conti, and also raised a condition attached to it: a reported ban on mentioning Discovery during the broadcast, which the magazine called awkward.
La Repubblica asked whether the stint amounted to a gag or a provocation, while Fanpage reported that Fazio showed emotion on air and dropped a hint about his future, saying this is the final year of his contract.
What to watch next: whether Fazio's contract remarks lead to concrete news about his next move, and whether the reported restriction on mentioning Discovery holds for any further Rai appearances.
