Günther Jauch brings “Who wants to be a millionaire?” the rod out. “Have you ever seen the show?” he scolds a doctor as he directs the audience. With the happy divorced couple, however, Jauch’s heart rises.
On Boxing Day, a whiff of Love Actually wafted through the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire studio? Seven candidates turned Günther Jauch’s almost four-hour “Christmas Game Special” into a small episodic film between a Christmas tree and an escort service. When a gentleman beamed at his ex-wife in love, it wasn’t just Jauch’s heart that warmed. Before that, however, he first had to put a mad doctor in his place. “You can only take the jokers that we have. You can’t create a new one” – Jauch may never have had to stop a candidate at WWM.
Despite Christmas, Jauch did not hide his malice. “He asked me if you can also drop to zero euros,” the RTL presenter sneered when candidate Knut Are Beuck had to take a joker when asked for 1000 euros. This was particularly unfavorable, since the four jokers in the gambler special are only activated after the €16,000 round. The psychologist, who has a doctorate, forfeited his other assistance with the early additional joker. It shouldn’t do him much good. “Have you ever seen the show?” Jauch felt compelled to ask. “Yes, once or twice, but not that often,” the 53-year-old had to admit.
That was obvious when the lecturer and writer suddenly tried to direct the audience in the studio. However, that was just as confused by the instructions as Jauch. With the additional joker, Beuck wished that everyone present in the studio really got up. With that he caught the warning from Jauch. An older gentleman could then help the candidate to realize that there is no doctor or gardener, but there is a cook. Angela Lansbury’s crime series “Murder is her hobby” then gave Beuck the rest (the unsuspecting candidate guessed “Murder with a view” for the title) and he went home with only 1000 euros. “The man has a doctorate and studied for years and fails at the assistant cook,” Jauch wondered afterwards.
A doctorate appeared in the Christmas gambler special of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” rather becoming a stone in the leg. Because before Beuck, the medical doctor Daniel Bauer from Berlin had already rushed down to 1000 euros. The biotech management consultant had the 16,000 euro question “What can male goats be over a meter long?” gone wild. The 29-year-old guessed that the animals’ beards can take on such proportions. In fact, according to the WWM question editors, it’s the horns. “Have a really nice evening with the thousand,” Jauch said goodbye to the hapless candidate.
Medical student Paul Reza Nemati from Hamburg was the first candidate of the evening to win 64,000 euros and was one of the lucky winners in the WWM special. Rita Wachholz from Erftstadt was happy with half as much money. Today she works in her husband’s painting business, whom she met on the Internet 13 years ago. On the other hand, she had previously put obstacles in the way of the amorous needs of hotel guests in her job.
The candidate told an amused Jauch how a customer once asked her for an escort service. But the innocent receptionist literally only understood “car”. Because the only thing that came to mind when she heard the buzzword was the Ford model. The angry guest then had to organize his female companion elsewhere. Wachholz herself is overjoyed with her husband. “He’s my jackpot anyway,” she said, and the director swung to her husband. Rarely have you seen someone beaming in love at WWM.
“Ah, wonderful, these are the right Christmas stories,” Jauch could also rave about the next couple. Simone Schneider-Stenkewitz from Barth near Zingst brought her ex-husband, with whom she has been happily married for 30 years. “It just didn’t work anymore. We argued a lot, that’s not so funny for the children either,” reported the teacher. For the sake of the children, she and her ex-husband lived in separate apartments in the same apartment building. The reconciliation was not long in coming. Finally, on the same day in August, the wedding was celebrated for the second time. The couple ignores the three-year divorce break in their anniversary calendar: “We’ll just leave that out. We’re really very happily married.”
The Christmas marital bliss was perfected when Schneider-Stenkewitz became the winner of the Christmas WWM evening with 125,000 euros. As an additional joker, a student helped her to realize that the Elbe and not the Rhine or the Danube flows through five federal states at the same time in Germany.
Hamburg’s Lisa-Marie Schnell was the third candidate of the evening to collect 16,000 euros. You confessed Jauch: “I always believed in the Christ Child.” Claudia Schäfer from Berlin ended the gambler special in a reasonably forgiving manner with at least 32,000 euros. The year 2022 will also end without a new RTL millionaire.
Jauch wants to end the long streak of bad luck in the first week of January. From Monday to Friday there is the super long three million euro week. “It’s going to be really good, I can promise you,” Jauch raised hopes of a new record win in the history of the RTL quiz show. “Then we’ll see each other, have a good New Year,” the moderator said goodbye to the viewers.
