At a young age, Freriks worked for the newspaper
Nieuw Utrechts Dagblad, the
Utrecht edition of
Het Parool. He studied at the
Hogere Burgerschool (HBS) in Utrecht and he studied
political science in Paris, France. Freriks moved to Paris in 1965. He also worked as correspondent in the Netherlands for the French newspaper
Le Monde. Charles Groenhuijsen was planned to be his successor at the
NOS Journaal in 2006 but Groenhuijsen was fired after a conflict with NOS.
Rob Trip became his successor in January 2010. Freriks also presented the
Groot Dictee der Nederlandse Taal, a televised
spelling test for adults, from 1990 until 2016. Since 2018, the event is held via radio. Freriks dictated the text of the 2018 edition and Frits Spits presented the show. Since 2019, retired politician
Gerdi Verbeet dictates the text of the
Groot Dictee der Nederlandse Taal. Freriks and Mieke van der Weij presented the 2004 quiz show
De Grote Bijbelquiz with questions about the Bible. In 2008, Freriks presented the segment
Le Tour de Fifi as part of
De Avondetappe, a television show about the
Tour de France presented by
Mart Smeets. In the same year, Philip Freriks, Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal and
Eva Jinek presented the show
NOS Amerika Kiest ('NOS America Chooses') from Washington about the
United States presidential election. He was the narrator in the 2012 edition of
The Passion, a Dutch
Passion Play held every
Maundy Thursday since 2011. In 2014, Freriks and weather reporter Erwin Kroll presented
Lekker Weertje, a six-part series about the weather and the influence it has on society. They presented a second season of the show in 2015. He presented the 2018 television show
Een Hollander in Parijs which looks at six 19th-century Dutch painters living and working in Paris. Freriks presented multiple television series about historic events or time periods. In 2021, he presented the six-part television series
In de voetsporen van de wederopbouw which looks at rebuilding the Netherlands from 1945 onwards after World War II. He presented
In de voetsporen van D-Day (2019), about the
Normandy landings (D-Day), and
In de voetsporen van de bevrijding (2020) about the
liberation of the Netherlands at the end of World War II. Freriks also presented
In de voetsporen van de jaren 60 (2023), about the 1960s,
In de voetsporen van de jaren 70 (2024), about the 1970s, and
In de voetsporen van de jaren 80 (2025), about the 1980s. Freriks is known as presenter of the television quiz show
De slimste mens. He first presented the show in 2012. In September 2023, he announced that he would stop presenting the quiz show in 2025. In December 2024, he was decorated Officer in the
Order of Orange-Nassau on the day of filming his last episode of
De slimste mens. He received the award from mayor of
Hilversum Gerhard van den Top.
Herman van der Zandt succeeds him as presenter of the show. Van der Zandt was also a contestant and he won the 24th season of the show. Author and cabaret performer
Paulien Cornelisse succeeds Maarten van Rossem as jury member. Freriks appears in the 2024 film
Opa Cor. He provided the Dutch voice for the character
Nitwit in the 2025 film
A Minecraft Movie directed by Jared Hess. On 4 May 2025, Freriks held the
4 mei-voordracht in the
Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam as part of the
Remembrance of the Dead events and ceremonies. In June 2025, he presented
Oorlogsalbums, a two-part television series about photo albums of unknown soldiers. , Freriks and Maarten van Rossem are scheduled to present the travel television show
Maarten & Philip op het spoor door Europa in which they travel through Europe by train. , he is scheduled to present a second season of
Oorlogsalbums in 2026. == Personal life ==