The ZDF show “Studio Schmitt” was mainly about football for presenter Esther Sedlaczek. Then the show took a surprising turn.
Esther Sedlaczek was clearly surprised. The ARD presenter was a guest on the ZDF program “Studio Schmitt” on Thursday when presenter Tommi Schmitt announced another guest. The sports presenter suddenly turned around and called out: “No, is he here? No, is he coming out of there now?”. With a loud “Ulli!” She stormed into the arms of the man who had just entered the studio and, after two long, heartfelt hugs, said: “Oh God, that’s nice. Crazy, I almost have tears in my eyes now.”
The Ulli who triggered Sedlaczek’s emotional outburst was reporter veteran Ulli Potofski. He was similarly emotional and admitted: “I also have a small tear.”
Career start with Potofski
Sedlaczek explained the emotional reunion as follows: “This is actually the most important man in my career, who has laid such a good foundation for me.” The background: When Sedlaczek started her career at the pay-TV broadcaster Sky, she presented one of her first formats alongside Potofski.
“I was thrown in at the deep end at the time,” she recalled. “It took a while before I found my way in. I accepted the challenge knowingly, but I always had him by my side and he always gave me good tips,” Sedlaczek continued. Probably his most important advice: stay authentic.
“I’m your TV dad”
Potofski’s tips were apparently worth their weight in gold. Since then, Sedlaczek has had a steep career, currently moderates the “Sportschau” for ARD, among other things, and reported on the World Cup in Qatar with duo expert Bastian Schweinsteiger. There she received a lot of praise for a critical interview with the then DFB director Oliver Bierhoff after the German national team was eliminated in the preliminary round.
Potofski is also one of the admirers of his ex-colleague. “I always say I’m her TV dad and I’m really proud. I use the word very, very rarely, but I’m on her,” he said at “Studio Schmitt”. Despite the close connection, the two said they hadn’t seen each other for years, only on the phone. “Really nice,” Potofski commented on the reunion on the ZDF program.
Questions from professional soccer players
Potofski didn’t just come to wallow in old memories, such as the fact that, according to him, Sedlaczek almost jumped on the table when Mickie Krause performed. He also hosted a game in which hosts Schmitt and Sedlaczek had to guess sports terms using picture puzzles. Lace underwear hanging on a clothesline should represent, among other things, the “hanging lace” and a master juggling hearts, Proper, should represent the term “master of hearts”.
The game ended a program in which Sedlaczek also conducted an interview with himself and had to answer questions from professional footballers such as Marco Richter, Matthias Ginter, Mats Hummels, David Alaba and Niclas Füllkrug. However, the highlight for her will certainly have been the reunion with her “television dad”.
