"I've had enough"

Gottschalk now explains his bizarre appearance

Director Otto Retzer and Thomas Gottschalk after the award ceremony(Bild: APA/BARBARA GINDL)

Thomas Gottschalk's latest appearance has - to put it mildly - once again provided a talking point. He seemed unsure and confused, stammering and rhyming. Now the TV legend explains why there were a few stumbles in his speech.

"I wasn't that bad, I was my usual self and didn't offend anyone," Gottschalk summed up the day after his appearance. "I only got a bit of a dig in at the Austrians because I praised their sense of humor," he told Bild newspaper. "Apart from that, I didn't think what I delivered was too bad." His wife Karina agrees.

The presenter was honored in Kitzbühel with the Diamond Romy, which was created especially for him. During his acceptance speech, Gottschalk seemed a little confused and initially spoke with a trembling voice. The TV legend surprised the audience with a rhyme and counted the remaining seconds on the timer. In TV shows, presenters can see how much time they have left on these timers.

"I didn't feel like it anymore"
 Although Gottschalk doesn't think his performance was that bad, he has an explanation for his somewhat bizarre appearance. He only came on stage at 11 p.m., which was too late for him. "I didn't feel like it anymore. In general, I'm fed up with the whole thing," he admitted quite openly. "I don't want to be on stage anymore."

Last major appearance
Gottschalk announced his departure from TV a long time ago, but he will still appear live in front of the camera one last time: on December 6. However, the show legend had actually planned to retire from TV earlier. "I wanted to stop in April," said Gottschalk. "But I somehow let myself be talked into this farewell show on 6 December."

In a self-reflective manner, Gottschalk added that "we have our best days behind us". By "we" he meant himself and his long-time friend and presenter Günther Jauch. "We've experienced the good times on television and we both think that it's not going to get any better."