Joko Winterscheidt (43) and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf (39) have not been on the plane for “The Duel Around the World” for a long time. Instead, since 2018, celebrities have competed for the entertainer duo in “The duel around the world – Team Joko versus Team Klaas”. A new episode of the show will appear on ProSieben on December 26 at 8:15 p.m. This time the moderators entertainer Verona Pooth (54), ski jumping legend Sven Hannawald (48), the moderator twins Dennis and Benni Wolter and author Sophie Passmann (28) got on board. The most extreme celebrity tasks in the history of the show show that they are taking on an extraordinary challenge.
In 2014, Winterscheidt gave Heufer-Umlauf the task of diving a distance of 20 meters under ice. Dressed in swimming trunks, the moderator jumped into the water of Finland. But he could only stand it for a few seconds and broke off the task. Five years later, Joko Winterscheidt gave the show’s presenter, Jeannine Michaelsen (41), the same task in Norway. Disguised as Elsa from the film “Frozen”, she shot a music video for the song “Let Go Now”, which was to end with the dive under a sheet of ice. Unlike Heufer-Umlauf, the 41-year-old completed the task. There was a brief moment of shock: She dived past the exit hole and panicked. Professional divers then caught them and brought them to the exit. Once there, she sang the end of the song, still shaking and sobbing. Impressive pictures that left not only her colleagues Winterscheidt and Heufer-Umlauf speechless.
TV chef Tim Mälzer (51) faced a no less dangerous task in 2018. Klaas Heufer-Umlauf challenged him to cook a dish and then serve it in a special outdoor area. The problem was that things kept exploding in the show kitchen while Mälzer was cooking in a protective suit. After he cooked the dish, his protection was augmented with more fireproof clothing, an incendiary hood, and incendiary paste on his face. Because further explosions were waiting for the chef on the 30-meter-long serving path. There a fatal error occurred in the pyrotechnics. Mälzer was briefly swallowed by a fireball. The 51-year-old suffered burns on his face, which then had to be treated in hospital. Fortunately, the cook did not suffer any permanent damage. Despite the accident, he successfully completed the task and snagged one of the most dangerous land points in the show’s history.
The task for author Charlotte Roche (44) made headlines and is still considered the most extreme in the history of the show. The 44-year-old made it clear from the start: “When I received the request, it was an absolute requirement for me that the task would be a super-tough one.” Heufer-Umlauf then presented her with a challenge from the “poison cabinet of the show”, as he himself said. In Russia Roche should complete a bungee jump. The rope for this should be hung on four titanium hooks, which should first be drilled into the skin on her back. To the surprise of her challenger, Roche agreed. In extreme pain, she first had the brackets stabbed in her back without being anaesthetized. She then jumped off a bridge attached to them. A crew member then commented appreciatively on the jump, saying, “You just did the craziest thing you can do in Duel Around the World.”
