It’s the end of a TV era: Bettina Böttinger (67) is saying goodbye to the “Kölner Treff” after 17 years, as the WDR announced on Wednesday. The journalist will moderate the program for the last time on October 27th. Böttinger shaped the talk on WDR for a total of 30 years.
“In October 2023 I’m celebrating my 30th anniversary ‘Talk am Freitagabend’ on WDR. For me it’s a big event and a good reason to give up. So my last ‘Kölner Treff’ will be broadcast on October 27th. I’m looking forward to a very special show,” explains the moderator herself.
Böttinger began her professional career in 1985 as an editor at Westdeutscher Rundfunk in the regional office in Bonn. Since 1991 she has worked for WDR, primarily as a moderator. In her long career she has led, among other things, through the magazine “Parlazzo”, the talk shows “B. meets …”, “Böttinger”, “Kölner Treff”, “West.art-Talk”, the viewer talk “Your opinion ” and various special programs. In 1994 she founded her own film and television production company Encanto. She has been nominated twice for the Grimme Prize.
“Bettina Böttinger and the ‘Kölner Treff’ are an unbeatable unit,” explains WDR director Tom Buhrow (64) on Böttinger’s farewell. “I’m always impressed by her great journalistic flair and her excellent conversation skills. You can feel in every show that it doesn’t work without passion. That’s how she made the ‘Kölner Treff’ a real success story.”
Since 2017, Susan Link (46) and Micky Beisenherz (46) have also belonged to the “Kölner Treff”. Initially only used as holiday replacements for Böttinger, they are now an integral part of the team and, as a duo, present a good third of all “Kölner Treff” editions.
We are currently looking for new moderators. According to reports, WDR is casting new presenters on July 26th and August 14th.
