Overview
- On Dec. 6, Gottschalk made his final appearance on RTL’s “Denn sie wissen nicht, was passiert” and left around 10:15 p.m. to sustained applause.
- Günther Jauch said the early exit was arranged so the goodbye happened at peak audience time rather than after midnight.
- Gottschalk disclosed treatment for a rare epithelioid angiosarcoma, describing bladder and ureter surgery, a cut thigh muscle, 33 radiation sessions, and lingering “brain fog” worsened by opioid pain medication.
- The broadcast drew roughly 2.41–2.42 million viewers overall and a 16.7% share among 14–49-year-olds, outperforming recent editions of the show in the key demo.
- Jauch and Barbara Schöneberger also stepped down, RTL named Giovanni and Jana Ina Zarrella for the Dec. 13 edition without confirming long-term hosts, and Gottschalk said he will focus on recovery for the next six months.