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Exciting facts about the TV show
One moderator invented it, the other moderated it the longest: Frank Elstner (l.) and Thomas Gottschalk.
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Thomas Gottschalk and “Wetten,dass..?” – an unforgettable duo that shaped German television. A review of the TV show.
The TV show “Wetten,dass..?” was long considered one of the most successful and popular television shows in German-speaking countries. It was presented by various presenters, primarily by Thomas Gottschalk (73). On November 25th, the show titan will say goodbye with his last “Wetten, dass…?” program, the future of which is still to be decided.
The big farewell broadcast from Thomas Gottschalk
For fans of the show, the final evening with showmaster Thomas Gottschalk promises exciting bets, impressive music acts and numerous stars on the famous couch. But the most important question in the end is, as always: Who will be the betting queen or king? The big farewell broadcast will be presented live from Offenburg by showmaster Thomas Gottschalk on Saturday, November 25th, 2023. The TV event can be seen on ZDF from 8:15 p.m. But even after the TV broadcast, the show will still be available in the ZDF media library for a month.
Frank Elstner: The inventor of the successful show
“Bet that..?” was generally broadcast several times a year from 1981 to 2014. The show was invented by Frank Elstner (81) with the idea of bringing people with extraordinary abilities onto the stage. Known for bizarre bets, the show achieved worldwide attention with approximately 3,185,000,000 viewers. In total, over 1,000 bets were played.
After it was first broadcast in 2014, it ran on German television for almost 34 years and was initially discontinued in 2014. In November 2021 she returned with presenter Thomas Gottschalk, as well as the following year. In November 2022, the show reached over ten million TV viewers with a market share of 39.5 percent.
The TV event “Wetten,dass..?” in numbers
The show requires an area of around 70×35 meters to set up the stage, while nine cameramen take care of the recordings. As of November 19, 2022, the broadcast has been overrun for a total of around 4,381 minutes. Particularly impressive: “Wetten,dass..?” was able to receive a total of over 10,000 card requests. booked per shipment. The required audience seats were between 1,400 and 3,500 depending on the recording location.
Over the years, a variety of betting paraphernalia and props have also been used. Cars were among them: 559 of them were used most frequently in a total of 69 bets. In addition, other props were also used in large numbers: a total of 23,302 beer mats, 22,222 dominoes, 11,412 matches and even 56 washing machines could already be seen in the show.
The previous presenters of the show
With his farewell broadcast, Thomas Gottschalk is now making his 154th “Wetten,dass..?” recording. He was seen as the presenter of the show for the first time in September 1987. Since then, he hosted the show until 1992. After a short break, he was appointed host of the show again in January 1994, this time until 2011. This seemed to be the end of his life, but on November 6, 2021, he appeared again in front of the “Bets, that..?” cameras and entertained the audience once again on November 19, 2022.
Before him, Frank Elstner moderated for seven years. Wolfgang Lippert (71) took over briefly during Gottschalk’s first break. Followed by Markus Lanz (54), who ran the show for two years until it was finally discontinued in 2014. Elmar Gunsch (81) was the first co-host of the show, presenting the bets together with Frank Elstner. The Swiss presenter Michelle Hunziker (46) was the last co-host of the show, who moderated together with Thomas Gottschalk.
The most moving moments from 34 years of “Wetten,dass..?”
With a record-breaking broadcast time of about 34 years, it has also accumulated endless moments that will be remembered forever. Including the surprising appearance of Brigitte Nielsen (60) and Cher (77) in 1987 with an almost identical and extremely revealing outfit. In 1999 there was also a political visit from former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (79). He was nicknamed “Brioni Chancellor” because of his Brioni suit. Bill Gates (68), the richest man in the world, was a guest on the famous couch in 2000. The fact that he presented the contents of his wallet live went around the world. The most shocking moment was Samuel Koch’s (36) accident in 2010. With his bet, the then gymnast jumped over moving cars with jumping boots. He was seriously injured on the third jump and has been paralyzed ever since.
These are the bets on November 25th
The station has already presented some exciting bets for the evening in advance. Among them was Julia Reichert (30) from Munich, who was taking part in “Wetten,dass…?” again after 18 years. participates. The author and rhetoric trainer puts her memory to the test with her bet.
Michaela Frank (46) and her dog Amie come to the show from Brombachtal in Hesse, whose dog, according to the broadcaster, has a special feel for numbers.
The baker Horst Freckmann (55), known as “HühnaHotte”, also gets animalistic. However, the Bochum resident relies on his own hearing.
Michelle Chevalier (26) and Antonia Fleig (23), on the other hand, rely on massive technology. The colleagues from Aschaffenburg want to demonstrate their skill and precision with a forklift bet.
As always, an outside bet shouldn’t be missed: Dairy technologist Christian Zumbühl (27) and his Swiss team are taking on this bet “to make big things happen”.
The children’s bet should also be particularly exciting. Felix Mayr (14) from Großweikersdorf in Austria relies on strength, good timing and precision – with a skateboard.