"Wetten, dass ..?": That's why Helene Fischer cried in the middle of the live show

Helene Fischer has tears in her eyes after her song.Image: ZDF screenshot

"Wetten, dass...?": Helene Fischer is crying in the middle of the live show

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It's the TV comeback of the year. "Bet that..?" returns to ZDF as a one-time special edition. The last regular program with Markus Lanz as moderator ran in 2014, Thomas Gottschalk had already left in 2011 and thus marked the end of the great Saturday evening entertainment.

Now there is a return for an evening. Gottschalk enters the stage in a gold-embroidered paisley jacket and your mind immediately travels back to another TV era that seems much longer than it really is.

The audience in Nuremberg celebrates the presenter with standing ovations and applause that lasts for several minutes. He's already sitting down on the couch. "Go ahead without me. I'm glad you're so happy. Stop, I haven't done anything yet. Sit down." But the audience starts to sing: "Oh, how nice …" Gottschalk is enthusiastic:

"This is Franconia. My career began in Hof and it ends in Nuremberg. That's 120 kilometers, you have to get there first."Thomas Gottschalk

He was always asked in interviews beforehand whether he was afraid of a shit storm, says Gottschalk in a good mood. "It's not a question of whether I'll create a shitstorm, but how long it takes. But after a certain age, a lot of things shouldn't matter and I've reached that age. And let's not fool ourselves: the majority of my viewers too." Nevertheless, before the show, he apparently did a weight loss treatment in South Tyrol. "Before people look at my stomach, they should rather look at Helene Fischer." The pregnant singer is also a guest.

The hall in Nuremberg is more crowded than it has been since Corona, and the celebrities sometimes hug each other to say hello. Viewers who sit "in front of the TV with a mask" would wonder why everyone is so close to "Wetten, dass ..?" Gottschalt believes. His very own explanation: "We are vaccinated, tested, recovered. Some even everything. I even took a shower."

The bets

Of course there had to be a big bet for the special edition.image: screenshot zdf

Helene Fischer

Helene Fischer is silent about her pregnancy.image: screenshot zdf

"I I didn't believe the hype until I experienced it myself," announces Thomas Gottschalk Helene Fischer only moderately charming. But he also calls her "one of Europe's best singers". Helene Fischer sings her new single "Null to 100". The performance gets under the skin of both the audience and herself: when the applause breaks out in the studio, the singer bursts into tears.

The 37-year-old is seven months pregnant, wears flatter shoes than usual and wears a jacket that is open at the back to hide her stomach. "I don't love the subject," she says when Gottschalk talks about her pregnancy. "If I don't ask you, tomorrow they'll say, the idiot Gottschalk didn't know she was pregnant – I knew it." She elegantly avoids all half-questions, smiles instead of answering and says that she would tell him everything in private.

Michelle Hunziker tries the sister tour: "You have such a beautiful shine in your eyes, that says it all - it really is the most beautiful thing in life." Before Fischer could say anything about it, Gottschalk interrupted: "When we're talking to the mothers …" He wants to know if she wants to lose weight again quickly. She is perplexed. "To be honest, I haven't given that much thought." Michelle says she gained 40 pounds with her last pregnancy. Gottschalk: "I've already managed to gain 18 kilos without a child."

Later he says: "I met your Thomas before, we don't even want to talk about it, he's a cool guy. He's really, really good for you." Helene Fischer looks a little amused that her private life is discussed here. She then prefers to reveal that she will be touring again in 2023. With the Cirque du Soleil.

Gottschalk wants to talk her into the artistic children's competition candidate for the stage show just for fun. "If a woman knows about men hanging from the ceiling, it's Helene." An allusion to her friend, the artist Thomas Seitel. When he asks her: "You stay with me the whole time, you don't have to go to the plane, do you?" one is quite amazed that she replies "No, I have nothing to do today." And Gottschalk jokes that he wants to go over so long "that I might still be able to get the godfather".

Gottschalk with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson from Abba. picture: screenshot zdf

Abba took a break for 40 years. "Bet that..?" with Gottschalk only ten. "You should have waited another 30 years," says Björn Ulvaeus. "I couldn't take it anymore," Gottschalk admits. They were often in Germany. "You're really nice too, you shouldn't forget that," says Benny Andersson when asked why she was about to "Wetten, dass ..?" arrived.

They rave a bit about the old days, today 80,000 new songs are uploaded to Spotify every day. Helene Fischer performs the old Abba hit "SOS" with a short text trailer. And in good old star fashion, the two Abba gentlemen leave the field again after completing their promotional appearance. Because they have to "go to the plane". This has always been the classic justification for foreign-language stars to shorten the long time sitting on the couch.

Gottschalk's sayings

In the darts bet on Markus Söder, Gottschalk said with regard to the last election: "It's a shame, our prime minister wanted to come today, he's good at darts too, but they land all in NRW."

The environment inspired Gottschalk to "Lady Kacka"bild: screenshot zdf

When the toilet brush sisters guessed Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" in the toilet stage set, Gottschalk of course didn't omit the joke "Lady Kacka".

He calls the world map dart candidate "Old Slime", because Abba didn't know him at the rehearsal and now acts enthusiastically in the presence of Benny and Björn.

To the owner of the dog who can sort the rubbish: "Some dogs don't even know whether their mistress belongs in the plastic or organic waste bin."

When Michelle Hunziger says that she has had two children and a new hairstyle in the ten years since "Wetten, dass..?!," the moderator smugly clarifies "I have nothing to do with the children."

Gottschalk asks the eight-year-old betting candidate: "I'm Thommy, but you can call me Mr. Gottschalk. Do you know me?". "Who? I wasn't listening properly," the boy replies, casually absent-minded. "Always in full sentences, yes?" the moderator playfully scolds him.

To Frank Elstner, about Joko and Klaas: "If you were with them, you would have to have 'Thank you Frank' tattooed on your butt."

Gottschalk teases Joko and Klaas

Gottschalk with Helene Fischer, Joko, Klaas and Michelle Hunzikerbild: screenshot zdf

Joko and Klaas connect him with sympathy as well as competition. "They started out so small and are still not that big," Gottschalk teases. Klaas counters: "We've already been to 'Wetten dass..?', to Lanz." But Klaas also praises Gottschalk as a pioneer of cheekiness and spontaneity on TV: "You can think about what to say while you're talking – we learned that from you, so we're glad you're here." When the two mention their station ProSieben too often, Gottschalk calls them to order. And when Gottschalk says that he owes a lot to ZDF, Klaas cheekily adds: "and Haribo" – Gottschalk's advertising partner for many years.

Zoe Wees and the "Hamburger" slogan

Gottschalk got it wrong with Zoe Wees. picture: screenshot zdf

Zoe Wees from Hamburg performs her chart hit "Girls Like Us". Gottschalk then goes to her, talks about success in America and says: "I know that you don't ask young women so stupidly where they come from." But he hopes that she will say in American interviews: "I am a Hamburger." One isn't sure if it's meant to be a joke that he's using the body positivity singer for a joke. When Michelle Hunziker later addressed his rustic humor again, Gottschalk went one step further: "You don't say cheeseburgers to women either."

Heino Ferch only croaks

Heino Ferch can hardly get a straight tone out. Supposedly because he had to scream so much during filming. Together with Svenja Jung he promotes the series "The Palace" about the Berlin revue theater "Friedrichstadtpalast". Ferch leaves most of the speaking to Jung. "495 women called: Heino should say something," says Gottschalk at some point. When his fellow actress asks if she should take over, he says, "Don't worry, I can do that." Gottschalk once called Svenja Jung "Juliane". She corrects him. He was only a little embarrassed: "But so far I've been great." You have to dance the dance scene from "Pulp Fiction" for a bet. Today Ferch dances better than he speaks.

Lindenberg flies with salad oil

Udo Lindenberg (75) presents his new song "Kompass". Gottschalk jokes afterwards: "30-year-olds used to hold up a sign: Udo, I want a child from you. Today, 30-year-olds stand there and say: Udo, I'm your daughter." Lindenberg says goodbye. "We have to go to the coalition negotiations. We're flying with salad oil. Bye, don't panic."

Reunion with Frank Elstner

Frank Elstner and Thomas Gottschalkbild: screenshot zdf

Frank Elstner, inventor and first moderator of "Wetten, dass ..?", comes towards the end of the show. "My first show was 40 minutes too long, I think you beat me today," he says to Gottschalk. The nonchalant: "I'll stop until we're through." In the end he only surpassed 31 minutes.

"Bet that...?" is something like Elstner's TV legacy, despite formats like "Montagsmaler", which he invented. He is 79 years old and has Parkinson's disease. His wish for Gottschalk can probably also be understood against this background:

"I challenge you: Talk to the program director of ZDF that we 'Wetten, dass..?' once a year. Then we can see how old Thomas has gotten and how young Michelle has remained."Frank Elstner

Program director Norbert Himmler sits in the front row and smiles. A 'no' looks different.

By the way, Frank Elstner's appearance also shows how much society has changed since he last moderated big shows. He introduces the excavator driver as "the big, heavy Andy" and asks the audience rhetorically about his cousin: "Can you imagine that this young woman is a master roofer and has her own business?" Yes it is 2021 and we can.