This year the dating format “First Dates – A table for two” on VOX celebrates its fifth anniversary. So far, star chef Roland Trettl (51) has helped normal singles on a first date in the TV restaurant and maybe even great love. In two special editions of the show, prominent participants will now dare to go on a TV date. “First Dates – Celebrity Special” has been available on the streaming service RTL since January 16, and the two episodes will be broadcast as a double episode on January 30 at 8:15 p.m. on VOX.
Nine celebrities embark on the “First Dates” experiment. The actresses Radost Bokel (47), known for her role as “Momo” in the film of the same name, and Lucy Hellenbrecht (24), who celebrated her breakthrough with “Germany’s next top model”, are looking for a partner. Other acting colleagues on a dating course are “Everything that counts” star Bela Klentze (34) and Andreas Guenther, who was seen in “Club of the Red Ribbons”, among other things.
“Lindenstrasse” actress Liz Baffoe (53) will also be on the show. She is joined by “DSDS” winner Prince Damien (32), former football commentator Werner Hansch (84) and actress and comedienne Lisa Feller (46). The pop singer Vincent Gross (26) completes the prominent participants. They all meet singles who are not in show business.
Users of the RTL streaming service have been able to access “First Dates – Promi Spezial” since January 16th. If you want to watch all nine celebrities dating, you should also tune in to VOX on January 30th. Because Liz Baffoe’s participation will be the only one that can only be seen on television. Conversely, Vincent Gross, Bela Klentze and Lucy Hellenbrecht can only be seen online in the two episodes on RTL.
The TV episode is apparently a compilation of the two episodes available online and Baffoe’s date. At VOX, Liz Baffoe, Lisa Feller, Prince Damien, Radost Bokel, Werner Hansch and Andreas Guenther can be seen on their restaurant dates.
Despite prominent participants, the special episodes will proceed exactly as fans of the show have been used to since 2018. As in the regular editions, the respective dating couples have not met before. You will first be welcomed by Roland Trettl and then you can get to know each other for the first time over an introductory drink. The participants then get the chance to deepen their conversations while eating together. If you feel like getting closer, you can go to the restaurant’s own photo box and capture the first meeting there. After the blind date, the singles not only decide who wants to foot the bill, but also whether they can imagine meeting up again.
Curious if the blind date turned into love? At the end of each episode, viewers receive an update on how it went on for those between whom it sparked.
For Hansch, by far the oldest celebrity participant, the format represents a special opportunity: “I don’t think there are so many levels on which you can still search at my age,” he explains in the interview. His remaining time on earth is “too valuable to be spent alone and you hear and read a lot about the fact that loneliness in old age is particularly difficult to bear.” Going to concerts and sporting activities are important to him, and under no circumstances should his potential partner smoke.
Meanwhile, Prince Damien addresses a point that must have gone through the minds of all participating celebrities in the run-up to the format: “I find it relatively difficult to find out whether the person is interested in oneself, i.e. in the private person, or in the public.” Since his successes with “DSDS” and the jungle camp, he has noticed it negatively several times on dates, “which I sometimes think is a shame”.
Liz Baffoe has never been on a blind date. Accordingly, she was excited before meeting her unknown counterpart. “It’s a total challenge for me […] because I usually keep my private life as private as possible and now I’m going to go on TV with it and hopefully meet the man of my life – of course I’m really excited,” she revealed in advance.
