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Bieber, Britney and Beyoncé: They all already took a seat on Gottschalk’s famous sofa. Almost everyone knows the concept of the legendary Saturday evening show. But these three surprising facts are less known.
On Saturday, November 25th in Offenburg, Thomas Gottschalk will greet the audience for the last time at “Wetten,dass..?”. His era ends in the Baden-Württemberg city. Numerous Saturday evenings in German-speaking countries were enriched by the show.
Although Frank Elstner developed the concept of the show in 1981 and hosted it for the first six years, the show is mostly associated with Gottschalk. Since 1987, viewers have been looking at their screens with wide eyes and betting for or against the absurd bets – initiated by showmaster Thomas Gottschalk and his guests. After so many years, the most surprising facts about the show can now be revealed.
Twelve times in the St. Jakobshalle in Basel
From no other city has the show been broadcast more often than from Basel. The Swiss city only shares the podium with Saarbrücken. As a comparison: bets were only made ten times in the German capital Berlin. An unforgettable Basel edition took place in 2007. Celebrities such as Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Avril Lavigne and the Klitschko brothers arrived. But the real highlight of the show was the chaotic city bet on Münsterplatz.
At the beginning of the show, the people of Basel were asked to gather as Tarzans, Janes and other “jungle characters”. The people of Basel didn’t need to be told twice – after all, they are a carnival city – and transformed the historic square into a wild jungle.
Robbie Williams’ most frequent international show act
If “Bet that..?” calls, managers can’t resist. With an audience share of 43.7 percent in the target group of 14 to 49 year olds in Germany, there is hardly an entertainment show with better-known Hollywood faces. Why the Brit Robbie Williams appears so often at showmaster Gottschalk remains a mystery: 12 appearances, two of them with his band “Take That”.
Apparently Robbie feels comfortable on Gottschalk’s sofa. But at his last appearance he was surprised by a comedian with a line that made him fall silent. Robbie revealed that he uses powder on his hair to make it look fuller. That’s not a problem, after all we’re all getting older. But comedian Christoph Maria Herbst said: “It’s better to put powder on your hair than through your nose,” alluding to Robbie Williams’ previous drug problems. It became noticeably quiet in the hall and presenter Michelle Hunziker tried to continue the show quickly in order to leave the men’s conversations behind her.
Record high viewership
Never before has a Saturday evening show attracted as many viewers to the television as “Wetten,dass…”. Although the impressive audience rating of 23.42 million viewers from February 9, 1985 was never reached again, the ratings from the revival broadcast in 2021 remain impressive. A total of 14 million viewers from Germany saw the live show “Wetten,dass..?”. In Switzerland, 662,000 spectators took time for Thomas Gottschalk and his guests.