Overview
- Multiple outlets cite Bild in reporting that a 12-person cast for the January 2026 season has been set.
- The reported names are Gil Ofarim, Simone Ballack, Samira Yavuz, Eva Benetatou, Hardy Krüger jr., Mirja du Mont, Umut Tekin, Hubert Fella, Patrick Romer, Stephen Dürr, Ariel Hediger and Nicole Belstler-Boettcher.
- RTL declines to confirm any participants, reiterating its policy of not commenting before the show starts and indicating names will be revealed closer to broadcast.
- The season is expected to return to Australia in early January 2026 with Jan Köppen and Sonja Zietlow again hosting.
- Coverage underscores potential flashpoints, noting Ofarim’s prior fabricated antisemitism case and the public fallout between Yavuz and Benetatou over an affair involving Serkan Yavuz.