Actor Tom Darmon departs French series Ici tout commence

Actor Tom Darmon is leaving the TF1 daily series “Ici tout commence” after five years of playing the character Tom Azem. The departure was a production decision rather than a personal choice by the actor. Producer Céline François explained that maintaining the credibility of the show's plot makes it difficult to keep all former students at the Institute once their studies are complete.

In the series, the character will depart to open his own restaurant in England. Following the announcement, Darmon faced a wave of negative comments and hate speech on social media. The actor responded to the criticism via an Instagram video, using humor and self-deprecation to address the backlash.