Nude dating is making a comeback
Stoeckel hosts “Naked Attraction”
The new host of the dating show “Naked Attraction” is Julian FM Stoeckel. photo
© -/Discovery+/dpa
Julian FM Stoeckel is unique. Now the dazzling Berliner hosts the dating show “Naked Attraction,” where the acquaintance doesn’t start with a conversation, but with the genitals.
Candidates stand here completely naked as they get to know each other in the studio: “Naked Attraction” is a revealing dating format and perhaps the most incredible television show in the world. After three seasons ran in Germany on the private broadcaster RTLzwei until 2020, the streaming service Discovery+ is now bringing a new edition (from October 5th). The new presenter is Julian FM Stoeckel.
The format “Naked Attraction” comes from the United Kingdom. The British broadcaster Channel 4 first broadcast it in 2016. There were already national branches in several countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Italy. So far, the show has always been moderated by women everywhere; in Germany it was Milka Loff Fernandes.
He is the first man in the world to moderate it, says Stoeckel. “I am a very emotional person who attaches great importance to empathy and good interactions with other people,” says the 36-year-old. The most important thing for him is that all candidates should feel comfortable both inside and outside the boxes.
How does the show work?
If you don’t know the show principle yet: Singles can choose their supposed dream partner based on their appearance. A single person looks at five naked objects of desire in boxes with frosted glass – first just the lower body, then the upper body, then the face.
In each round, the single person gives one of the candidates a basket. Afterwards, the participants are allowed to talk – and the single also has to go clothing-free before choosing the person he or she will go on a date with.
Stoeckel emphasizes that he doesn’t actually have a problem with nudity. “It’s not something that embarrasses me. The challenge was talking about it on TV, seeing 96 naked people for 16 episodes.”
When he was asked to moderate it, he was initially unsure whether “Naked Attraction” was the right format for him and whether he could handle it. “We had conversations and at some point I thought that it was a great task and that Discovery+ was showing incredible courage. Because the channel consciously chose a bisexual, colorful, dazzling, very different presenter,” says Stoeckel, who appeared on RTL in 2014. Jungle camp, has completed various moderation jobs and guest appearances and is very active on social media.
Candidates as a reflection of society
There is an “exciting mix of candidates, inside and outside the boxes,” said Stoeckel: “We have heterosexuals, we have bisexuals, we have homosexuals, we have transgenders and we have rounds with best agers. Our real, colorful picture of society.”
The new edition of “Naked Attraction” starts on October 5th with three of 16 episodes. In the following weeks, one new episode per week will be posted online every Thursday until the beginning of 2024 (January 4th). The recordings took place in Berlin-Adlershof in the spring. Each of the 16 episodes is a good 20 minutes long.