He saved the emotional part for the end: Accompanied by lots of applause, showmaster Thomas Gottschalk from the ZDF classic “Wetten,dass..?” adopted. There was a standing ovation on Saturday evening in Offenburg for the visibly moved presenter. “We had a good time together,” the 73-year-old shouted to the around 2,000 people in the Baden Arena.
Gottschalk also explained that it was not a sad event. “I’m not desperate, my life goes on and I’m looking forward to everything that comes,” he added before he was driven out of the hall with an excavator. The surprise guest on the excavator was comedian Mike Krüger, a companion of Gottschalk in past TV decades.
Two main reasons motivated him to write “Wetten, dass…?” to finally put an end to it, said Gottschalk. On the one hand, he doesn’t want “people to have to explain my guests to me.” On the other hand, he always said on television what he said at home. He now speaks differently on television than he does at home – because he’s afraid that he could create a “shitstorm.”
Co-host Michelle Hunziker was not there
Show creator Frank Elstner (81) hugged Gottschalk at the end and praised his work. “I’m grateful that you lasted this long,” he said. Gottschalk was once the presenter of “Wetten,dass..?” followed. At the beginning, Elstner announced him as a “legend”. The band Rolling Stones also said goodbye to him in a video message displayed during the show.
It was Gottschalk’s 154th broadcast – which he ended unusually on time. Normally, decent overdrafts are a trademark of his. What was also unusual for some viewers was that co-host Michelle Hunziker was missing this time. Gottschalk announced in the summer that he wanted to host the show alone again.
“Let me chat here”
He welcomed the actor Matthias Schweighöfer as the first prominent guest on the famous show sofa. British boy band Take That performed their cult hit “Back for Good”. Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald were on stage in southwest Baden-Württemberg.
The singers Helene Fischer and Shirin David also performed together. Together they performed Fischer’s hit “Atemlos”, which was first released ten years ago. Gottschalk then slid into a discussion with Shirin David on the celebrity couch about feminism and influencers. The singer countered. Knowing Gottschalk, he then made silly statements like: “Let me babble here.”
World star Cher also took a seat on the large TV couch. It wasn’t her first time on the show, and the singer and Gottschalk also know each other from Malibu. He said he once met her there in the shoe store.
Schweinsteiger instead of Schweighöfer
Gottschalk was well prepared – after the last edition there was criticism that only Hunziker had the show under control. However, there were still mistakes – for example, Gottschalk said Schweinsteiger instead of Schweighöfer. Former professional footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger was introduced as “Bastian Schweigsteiger”. Later in the show, Gottschalk flirted with his slips of the tongue: If he lost his bet, he wanted to say Bastian Schweinsteiger ten times in a row.
The showmaster’s outfit was comparatively subtle for his standards: a suit in light cardinal red with velvet slippers.
Excerpts from the bets: A man wanted to recognize the breed by the roosters crowing – he won. The outside bet was organized in Switzerland. Eight men pulled a seven-ton cable car ten meters uphill in Stans. The betting queen was a woman who was able to recognize previous bets on the classic show using colorful barcodes.
Looking back on special moments
After 36 years, Thomas Gottschalk ended his career as a betting presenter. Through “Bet that…?” He became a showmaster legend and the entertainment program became probably the largest in Europe. A few moments were particularly memorable. After losing bets, he dipped himself in mustard and even danced on stage as the “Ballet Prince” in Swan Lake. This and other scenes were shown again in the credits.
Gottschalk had already left the show in 2011, and in 2014 “Wetten, dass…?” set. There was a celebrated comeback in 2021, after which ZDF scheduled two more episodes with Gottschalk. The station has not yet announced what will happen after his departure.
