TV presenter Kai Pflaume (55) was awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit by Prime Minister Markus Söder (55, CSU). “The moment when you get the Bavarian Order of Merit from Prime Minister Markus Söder,” writes the entertainer on Instagram. In the attached video he shakes Söder’s hand and smiles proudly at the camera.

Pflaume has been an integral part of German television since the 1990s. His steep career began in 1995 with “Only Love Counts”. He has hosted countless TV shows since then. He is currently in “Small vs. Big”, “Who knows something like that?” and “Hard to believe!” can be seen regularly on public broadcasters.

As an old hand in the linear TV business, his trip to YouTube two years ago came as a surprise to many. But the moderator was guided by current trends. He found the big stars of the platform and gave exclusive insights into their lives. “Ehrenpflaume” – the name of his channel – has already visited youth idols like Montana Black (34), Pamela Reif (26) or Trymacs (28). Over 600,000 subscriptions and millions of clicks for his videos speak for themselves.

In addition to Pflaume, 72 other people received the Bavarian Order of Merit, not all of whom had a prominent background. Among the celebrity award winners were the actors Gaby Dohm (79), Christian Tramitz (67) and Fritz Wepper (81) as well as the athletes Anni Friesinger-Postma (45) and Anne Haug (39).

Bavaria’s Prime Minister tweeted about the award: “Bavaria’s most exclusive club is growing: today the Bavarian Order of Merit was awarded in the Munich Residenz. They are all role models, high performers and encouragers.” In total there are “at most 2,000 carriers”.