Perhaps he already knew more, Jan Köppen, than he did the latest edition of his dome meat inspection show take me out recorded for RTL. When the program aired last Saturday night, he greeted viewers with a beige fishing vest and matching hat. That looked suspiciously like a safari vacation, or rather: an outfit for the Australian jungle. Köppen will in future I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here (short: Ibes) moderate. He follows Daniel Hartwich, who has moderated the 16 camp days with jungle moderation icon Sonja Zietlow since 2013 and will no longer travel to Australia because of his school-age children.
Jan Köppen is an obvious solution for the Cologne private broadcaster. He is already known to the inclined RTL viewer. Not only from said dome show, through which he leads quite quick-witted and empathetic. But also from the parcours competition Ninja Warriors Germany, which he moderates and comments on alongside the ever yelling sports presenter Frank Buschmann and the brave field interviewer Laura Wontorra. Not an easy role to assert oneself alongside the prominent TV sports faces. However, he has been able to do this for six seasons now: also because he shows a few qualities there that a jungle moderator who follows Dirk Bach and Daniel Hartwich absolutely needs.
Presenting without pants? Jan Köppen knows what he’s getting into at RTL
First: self-mockery. “Here are the best comments from five years Ninja Warriors Germany by Jan Köppen: ‘Aaauuu, Aaah, Eieiei, Uiuiui, Uuuh, Ei, Ahh, Whoop, Aaalda'”, Köppen summarized his presenting skills in the last season finale to date in the show, in which well-trained athletes’ bodies work their way through climbing and coordination courses On the other hand, that he is not overly ashamed of stupid things. When Köppen broke his pants on the same show – don’t ask! – he moderated without further. RTL-typical camera zoom on his bare legs included. Köppen knows what he is up to lets in
at Ninja Warriors Germany he has also proven that he has mastered the finer points of double moderation, including minor spontaneous teasing. Since Sonja Zietlow is of course set for the jungle moderation, an equally essential requirement for the Ibes office. Zietlow, who should know best after 16 seasons in a row, has already certified Köppen’s “suitability for the jungle”. For RTL entertainment boss Markus Küttner, Köppen was, according to his own statement, “absolutely the ideal candidate”. His broadcaster had already used Köppen twice to replace Daniel Hartwich when he was ill: also at the season finale of let’s dance in February, where the presenter moved confidently on the Friday evening live show floor.
“Something with media”, painting and relaxation hip-hop
Like so many of his generation, Köppen “always wanted to do something with the media, something creative,” said the 39-year-old in a podcast interview. A Viva internship was followed by a traineeship and first moderation for the music station. Incidentally, the interview was recorded in Köppen’s studio. In addition to his job as a moderator he paints large, abstract pictures, which would be worth watching even without their creator’s television appearances. Köppen is also a musician, keeps bringing out new songs, genre: relaxation hip-hop.
So now the jungle, TV trash campfire of the nation. In an RTL post Jan Köppen has already announced how he wants to moderate the show: “With a certain irony and distance, but always with a certain amount of empathy.” That sounds a lot like the Zietlow/Hartwich moderation style of the past nine seasons. And Jan Köppen already has the matching beige jungle vest.