Grichka death: Bogdanoff twin ‘dies of Covid-19’ aged 72

Grichka was one half of famed French TV personality duo

Presenter Grichka Bogdanoff has died at the age of 72.

In a statement shared by his agent, the family of the eccentric French TV personality had died on Tuesday (28 December) surrounded by family.

French news outlets have reported that Grichka, who was best known for his work alongside twin brother Igor on French TV, was admitted to intensive care in a Paris hospital on 15 December after contracting Covid-19.

A source close to the Bogdanoff brothers said that neither Grichka or Igor had been vaccinated against coronavirus (via Le Monde).

Born in 1949 and descended from European royalty, the Bogdanoffs’ first appeared on TV in 1979, presenting the TV show Temps X throughout the 1980s, which was one of the country’s first science fiction series.

They went on to appear on a number of science programmes, largely concerning science fiction and space.

In 2001, Grichka and Igor were embroiled in a scandal nicknamed “The Bogdanoff affair”, where a series of papers penned by the brothers about what they believed happened during the Big Bang were published in reputable peer-reviewed scientific journals, despite a report later finding their theses held no scientific value.

Igor (left) with brother Grichka (AFP via Getty Images)

In recent years, the Bogdanoff brothers had become popular figures in the cryptocurrency community and in 2020 appeared on the French version of The Masked Singer.

The twins were well known for their prominent chins, lips and cheekbones, but have always denied having had any plastic surgery.