Gerry Scotti (born Virginio Scotti) is an Italian television presenter, actor and former member of the Italian Parliament. He began his career as a disc jockey and became best known for hosting quiz shows, especially on the Mediaset channel Canale 5. He has also been recognised with numerous Telegatto awards and Guinness World Records.
Early career
Scotti gave up his law studies to start in broadcasting as a disc jockey at Radio Milano International. In 1982 he joined Radio DeeJay, and a year later he became host of DeeJay Television, the first Italian programme dedicated to music videos, broadcast by Italia 1. He also presented music programmes such as Festivalbar. From 1987 to 1992 he served as a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies for the Italian Socialist Party.
Television success
From the 1990s Scotti worked almost exclusively for Canale 5 as a presenter. He is especially associated with quiz shows, hosting the Italian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? as well as Passaparola, The Money Drop and The Wall. He has also directed entertainment programmes, co-hosted the satirical show Striscia la Notizia, and acted in films and situation comedies. Since 2024 he has hosted the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune.
Awards and recognition
Scotti has won the Telegatto television prize several times, including in 1984, 1985 and a number of years between 1994 and 2007, and received a platinum Telegatto in the Excellence category in 2008. Since 2011 he has held a Guinness World Record for the most episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? hosted by a male presenter.