Journalist | Editor | Chairperson | Germany expert / correspondent | in Hilversum & Berlin
Radio 1: “Wetten, dass..?” with Thomas Gottschalk has ended
It’s the end of an era for Germans: the final episode of *Wetten, dass..?* aired last Saturday. A show we know in the Netherlands as *Wedden dat..?*, but it’s far more popular among our neighbors—especially the host who presented the show for years — Thomas Gottschalk. “Bureau Buitenland” discusses this with Germany expert Ulrike Nagel.
00:00 Radio 1 “Bureau Buitenland” 00:38 Ulrike Nagel
In this conversation
Journalist Ulrike Nagel discusses on Radio 1 the end of the German television show “Wetten, dass..?” with host Thomas Gottschalk, an event that came as a shock to millions of Germans.
Ulrike Nagel talks about Thomas Gottschalk with Sophie Derkzen in the NPO1 radio studio.
The Scale of “Wetten, dass..?” [00:33]: “Wetten, dass..?” and Thomas Gottschalk were hugely popular in Germany. The show, featuring bets from everyday people and Hollywood stars on the couch, attracted as many as 23 million viewers at its peak in the 1990s—comparable to a World Cup final. Gottschalk, known for his flamboyant personality and eccentric clothing, bridged the two worlds in a unique way [01:01].
Farewell to Gottschalk [01:26]: This was the third time Gottschalk had ended the show. Previous attempts to hand the program over to others had been unsuccessful. Gottschalk, 73 years old, earned about 100,000 euros per episode [01:38].
Nostalgia and the “Old White Man” [02:07]: The show represented old-fashioned television that sought to bridge two worlds. Nagel notes that Gottschalk’s humor sometimes no longer fits the current zeitgeist and the risks associated with the “old white man” [02:22].
Background
According to Germany expert Ulrike Nagel, Thomas Gottschalk and the show he hosted until last Saturday are a true institution. “It’s a show that’s like a campfire around which the whole family gathers. It’s incredibly well-known and beloved. The host, now 73, is also incredibly well-known and beloved,” says Nagel. “He still looks exactly the same as he did in 1987 and is known for his flamboyant sense of style and his guests.”
According to Ulrike, it’s a mistake to think the show was solely about bets. The famous guests and the accompanying scandals—such as Cher appearing in a see-through dress—are just as much a part of the *Wetten, dass..?* DNA.
Thomas Gottschalk on *Wetten…? Das*
Ended Due to a Generation Gap
Although Gottschalk had previously stepped down from the show only to make a comeback later, this time the end seems much more definitive. “This time, he wanted to quit for good because he’s slowly losing track of his own guests—due to a generation gap with today’s stars. He also felt that he could only come up with most of his jokes at home anymore. This was his 154th and, apparently, final episode.”
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