Legends, feminism and slips of the tongue: that was Gottschalk’s farewell “Wetten, dass..?”

He saved the emotional part for the end: Accompanied by much applause, showmaster Thomas Gottschalk of the ZDF classic “Wetten, dass..?” adopted. There was a standing ovation for the visibly moved presenter in Offenburg on Saturday evening. “We had a good time together,” the 73-year-old shouted to the approximately 2,000 people in the Baden Arena.

Gottschalk also explained that it was not a sad event. “I am not desperate, my life goes on and I look forward to everything that is to come,” he added before being wheeled out of the hall in an excavator. The surprise guest on the digger was comedian Mike Krüger, a companion of Gottschalk in recent TV decades.

Two main reasons motivated him to say: “Laws, dass..?” to finally put an end to it, Gottschalk said. On the one hand, he didn’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 at home – because he is afraid he could cause a ‘shitstorm’.

Show creator Frank Elstner (81) hugged Gottschalk at the end and praised his work. “I’m grateful you stuck with it this long,” he said. Gottschalk was once the presenter of “Wetten,dass..?” followed. At first, Elstner called him a “legend.” The band Rolling Stones also said goodbye to him in a video message shown 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.

He welcomed the actor Matthias Schweighöfer as the first prominent guest on the famous show bench. British boy band Take That performed their cult hit “Back for Good”. Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald were on stage in south-west 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 got into a conversation with Shirin David on the celebrity couch about feminism and influencers. The singer responded. Knowing Gottschalk, he then made foolish statements like: “Just let me babble.”

World star Cher also took a seat on the large TV couch. It was not 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.

Gottschalk had prepared well – after the last edition there was criticism that only Hunziker had the show under control. However, there were still errors – for example, Gottschalk said Schweinsteiger instead of Schweighöfer. Former professional football player 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 relatively subtle by his standards: a suit in light cardinal red with velvet slippers.

And the bets? A man wanted to recognize the breed of rooster by crowing – he won. The outside bet was placed in Switzerland. Eight men pulled a seven-ton cable car ten meters uphill in Stans. The gambling queen was a woman who could recognize previous bets on the classic show using colorful barcodes.

After 36 years, Thomas Gottschalk ended his career as a gambling presenter. Via “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 was doused in mustard and even danced on stage as the “Ballet Prince” of Swan Lake. These and other scenes were seen again in the end 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 had two more episodes with Gottschalk planned. The broadcaster has not yet announced what will happen after his departure. (lacquer/sda/dpa)