When Thomas Gottschalk stepped on the stage of the ZDF show “Wetten dass ..?” For the first time in ten years on Saturday evening, the audience in the exhibition hall in Nuremberg could not stop: With huge cheers and “Oh, how is that beautiful” singing the moderator was received.
“I'm really looking forward to the evening, and I'm taking my time too,” he said.
And so it was.
In a gold-patterned jacket and with Michelle Hunziker as a com presenter at his side, Gottschalk presented television like in earlier times.
“The show has a certain basic cheerfulness,” he says.
And so the evening turned out to be “Wetten dass ..?”: Entertainment that brings people together - celebrities and betting candidates on the stage, whose skills are most important.
In a great mood, Thomas Gottschalk was not at a loss for gags and puns, not even for self-deprecating self-irony.
"I promise you, I haven't forgotten anything, but I haven't learned anything either," he said.
It has been ten years since he last appeared on and with the show.
It started with an animal bet: a dog named “Uno” wagged its tail and sorted trash correctly into three tons and obviously enjoyed it.
Later, Austrian sprinters raced against a firefighter's kart, which is powered by fountains of water from fire hoses.
When Gottschalk announced the outside bet, he said - "with full conviction and with all his heart and not often anymore -:" Great, the bet is valid "."
Two sisters made music with a toilet brush and the obligatory excavator started rolling.
This should catch Frisbee discs, which did not always work and was not decisive.
With “Wetten dass ..?” There are only winners anyway, said Gottschalk.
The winner of the competition was a young man who threw darts accurately at a map of the world.
The guest list was filled with the two gentlemen from ABBA, Udo Lindenberg and the pop singer Helene Fischer, whose appearance the audience acknowledged with special cheers.
She sang a song from her new album "Rausch".
The singer didn't really want to talk about her pregnancy, which didn't stop Gottschalk from asking anyway.
"Otherwise tomorrow it will be:" The Gottschalk, the idiot, he didn't even know that she was pregnant "." Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson from ABBA then put on the "SOS" as a bet together with Helene Fischer.
"Like in a feverish dream," said moderator Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, with "Wetten dass ..?"
Together with Joko Winterscheidt, he reports on their show, in which they combine nonsense with serious topics - such as the plight of the refugees in Moria, Greece, or the difficult situation in care.
"I already said that Joko and Klaas have the necessary seriousness," said Gottschalk.
“Wetten dass ..?” Inventor Frank Elstner appeared on stage for the finale.
"He presented the first bet and he should also present the last," said Gottschalk.
"My first broadcast was 40 minutes too long, and I think you're hitting me today," said Elstner and Gottschalk counters: "I'll stop until we're through."
The two of them weren't through with the evening at this point and if Elstner has their way, that should also apply to “Wetten dass ..?”.
“Talk to the ZDF program director,” he urges his successor.
Udo Lindenberg also pleaded for a continuation of the show.
It was "a great show".
And the streaming service Netflix showed on Twitter "Absolute understanding for everyone who prefers to watch television tonight #Betendass".
Should it actually go on, Thomas Gottschalk would appear with a new hairstyle.
He wants to cut off his curls.