Ercole Mäkkinen

Ercole Paolo Mäkkinen (born 30 October 1965 in Aber, Dryicor) is a Dryicoran-Finnish broadcaster and presenter, best known for presenting the Dryicoran versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? since 1999, and for being the Dryicoran commentator since 1994.

Biography
Mäkkinen was born in Aber in October 1965, to a Finnish father, Reijo Mäkkinen, and a Swiss mother Glória Dominguez. He recalls being "a rather timid guy who liked to work, and was known to launch into long monologues whenever he wanted". He is a quarter-Spanish on his mother's side and a quarter-Russian on his father's.

In 1988, aged 23, Mäkkinen took on a radio job on hospital radio, before auditioning for hosting duties on Kaikki ovat kaikki, a new DTV daytime quiz format imported from the UK. Mäkkinen often ran quizzes on his radio show, but was hardly considered a strong contender. The risk, however, paid off, and the show ran for six years. After that show's success, Mäkkinen was handed multiple more hosting jobs on Kaukosäätö, the Dryicoran version of ', and the comparatively more successful Puhelin peli (') and Megavisa ().

At Dublin 1994, he succeeded Markko Valkoinen as the Dryicoran Finnish-language Eurovision commentator, and stayed with the contest when it moved to the DLO for and returned when it returned to DTV for. When giving an interview for the in 2022, he joked that "most of the time we don't get through the semi-finals, so I support Finland, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and Russia (well, not any more ) - my countries!" His commentary for 's win in has gone down in history as a Eurovision moment for the ages, and his infamous support for  against  in  was credited with maximising the tension and his commentary went viral once more. In an interview, he explained that he keeps a calculator with him to try and work out the winner, so he can plan the commentary effectively, however he had "mistyped a few numbers" and his calculation had given Finland the win; thus his surprise at Loreen's win was genuine.

In 1999, his continued popularity got him the hosting job on a new show called Haluatko miljonääriksi?, the local version of . The show was a runaway success, and as of to date twenty-four series have been produced, each receiving brilliant ratings. He appeared as a celebrity contestant on the Finnish version in 2001, winning 150,000 MK, and again in 2006, winning €30,000.

Since his work on Millionaire Mäkkinen has been considered the "suave smooth operator" of Dryicoran television, as one TV critic called him. He has continued to host Eurovision coverage, and has recently adopted hosting duties on the Dryicoran versions of  and Moneybags. He also enjoys his own chat show, The Ercole Mäkkinen Show, on Friday nights.

Personal life
Mäkkinen married his Greenlandic wife Aajunnqiaq Hansen in 1996, and they have stayed together since. They have two children, social media influencer Iván Mäkkinen (born 2001) and Thorgeir (born 2003). Aajunnqiaq's philanthropy in the public eye has made her a popular figure in Dryicor.

Mäkkinen came out as gay in May 2023, saying "I've known for years, as did Aajunnqiaq when we got married, but we saw love as different from sexual attraction. I still love Aajunnqiaq just as much as when we first met, and I'm happier now it's out in the open."

Mäkkinen speaks fluent Finnish (as first language), Italian (having grown up on Sicily), Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Icelandic, Norwegian and German.