WWM Promispecial: Kerner gets into a gambling mood at Jauch

With "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" this time it's about a good cause. Celebrities like TV chef Steffen Henssler and Johannes B. Kerner take their places on Günther Jauch's chair. When answering the questions, the moderator sometimes walks on thin ice – but his strategy works.

When Johannes B. Kerner last appeared on "Wer wird Millionär?" was a guest, Angela Merkel was not yet Federal Chancellor and the RTL show was only four years old. On Thursday there was a showdown between Günther Jauch and the moderator of "Der Quiz-Champion" (according to ZDF the "toughest quiz in Germany"). In the celebrity special for the 25th RTL donation marathon, money was raised for children in need. However, in contrast to his colleagues, Kerner took full risk. But then Dirk Steffens didn't answer the phone.

Things were different about this celebrity special. The audience in the studio wore masks for the first time and were widely spaced. The guests were spared typing in the selection rounds. Instead, they competed in a set order. Appropriately, Kerner deserved the completion of the three-hour broadcast.

Kerner is playing at Jauch

His tendency to gamble first became apparent in the 32,000 euro question. Without thinking, Kerner settled on the lyrics of the obscure hit "Would I Lie to You" by Charles & Eddie from the 90s. "That was a bit of thin ice," he had to admit. But it went on like this.

For 64,000 euros, the moderator should know what all SPD chancellor candidates had in common since 1994: A) were previously Federal Minister, B) born in East Westphalia, C) last name begins with "S", D) married several times. "Who was the SPD's candidate for chancellor in the last election?" Asked Kerner. But even without Martin Schulz, he tended to S. in the face of Scharping, Schröder, Steinmeier and Steinbrück. The additional joker confirmed his opinion. Kerner was not really sure ("Increased from half knowledge to three-quarters knowledge"), but logged the correct answer anyway.

When asked for 125,000 euros, Kerner was asked what it is usually about when talking about circulation, intermediate and extra time. "I actually want a little more," he said, referring to his previous winnings. "We all want that," replied Jauch. "I would take a little risk for that," countered Kerner. He still had the telephone joker, but wanted to save it. So he lured Jauch into a kind of unofficial public joker.

Kerner asked if a viewer knew the answer, but didn't look around. When Jauch announced that a gentleman had got up behind Kerner, he immediately logged into the traffic lights – the correct answer. "I don't understand the logic," Jauch admitted. "There aren't any, either," explained Kerner. He had bet that the father of fellow candidate Sabrina Mockenhaupt, who was a police officer, would have got up if traffic lights had been the correct answer. Mockenhaupt's father had long since left the studio unnoticed by Kerner.

WWM celebrity special: two 500,000 euro questions

On the 500,000 euro question, Kerner finally gave up voluntarily. The fact that Telefonjoker Dirk Steffens only answered the mobile box twice was no big deal, because the question would probably have been too complicated anyway: For which country is the FRG the neighboring state with the longest common border? Correct answer: Austria.

Kerner earned 125,000 euros for the RTL donation marathon, the same amount as in 2003. Mockenhaupt and soccer coach Ralf Rangnick also won 125,000 euros. "Ralf is my head, I have real breastfeeding dementia," said the long-distance runner, who became a mother in May, explaining the performance as a duo. Rangnick did not have a single word during the first few minutes. But the soccer coach, who is traded in the media as a possible successor to national coach Joachim Löw, set the tone with increasing winnings in the advice team. Rangnick even had the right tendency on the 500,000 euro question. He believed that linguistics deals with either avalanche words or echo questions. Echo questions ("When are you coming?" – "When will I come?") Were correct.

TV chef Steffen Henssler had only let seven years pass since his last appearance in the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Celebrity Special. Like Kerner, he repeated his winnings from then: 64,000 euros. Henssler made less impression on Jauch with his drawing of a soccer field with playing field marking lines. "If there is a place anywhere in the world that is even remotely as excellent …", the moderator complained in view of the lack of five-meter space and the broken center line. For Henssler, however, it was enough to give the correct answer. "Still full marks. Just like in school," said Jauch.

Michael Stich came into the studio with ambitions to reach the million. "You don't go out on the pitch to lose as close as possible, you want to win," the former tennis star had put out his battle slogan before the broadcast. In the end it was only 32,000 euros. Stich and his telephone joker Sebastian Klussmann did not know that Merkel had been divorced at the age of 27 – from Mr. Merkel, her fellow student Ulrich Merkel.

The celebrities raised a total of 346,000 euros for a good cause. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" takes a few weeks off and ends 2020 with the issue on December 28th.