This TV comeback lasted 15 years!
Millions know her as the presenter of Sat.1 “Blitz”. Bettina Cramer (53) is now the prominent face of the weekday early evening magazine “Guten Abend Deutschland” (ServusTV Germany, from January 9, 6:10 p.m.).
Together with Max Oppel (49, “Sat.1 Frühstücksfernsehen”), Cramer leads the show live. The new format is produced by WeltN24 for ServusTV Germany in the new studio in Berlin.
And twin mom Bettina Cramer is celebrating her TV comeback after 15 years!
In the BILD interview, she tells how her new dream job came about, reveals the reason for her TV break and how her everyday family life has now changed.
New dream team at ServusTV: Bettina Cramer (53) is now leading with Max Oppel (49) through the early evening magazine “Guten Abend Deutschland” (ServusTV Germany, 6.10 p.m.)
Congratulations on the new ServusTV Germany early evening program “Guten Abend Deutschland”! How did your TV comeback come about after 15 years?
Bettina Cramer: “Thanks! I got a call asking if I would like to moderate for ServusTV Germany. Of course I did! When I heard that it was a sophisticated, journalistic evening magazine from Berlin, I was hooked. It was basically love at first call! Then I was invited to the casting.”
Why is this format right for you?
“This show brings together everything I want to stand for. I started with news as a volunteer. Then I moderated Sat.1 breakfast television for many years. Three hours of broadcast, double moderation and always live. Then came the show ‘Blitz’, live every night for almost four years. Now all my experiences come together. I’m a passionate live presenter, I like it when it has to be to the point.”
What rituals do you have before a live show?
“Like warming up for sports, you need to prepare your voice for a live broadcast. I therefore do relaxation exercises for my mouth and voice. This includes the famous fluttering lips that we know from small children. Before each show, I practice my favorite tongue twisters like ‘The cat crooks the stairs. The cat steps crookedly on the stairs’ or ‘Good beer brewing fellows brew good brown beer’.”
Was the birth of your twins a reason for your TV break?
Cramer: “Yes absolutely. Like all other mothers, she had to manage the balancing act between job and family. When my twins came after my ‘Blitz’ moderation, I also wanted to be there for my children. When offers for moderation came in other cities shortly after the birth, I said: Friends, my children are only three months old! I’m not leaving my babies alone now!”
Passionate mother: After the birth of her twins Carla and Luis (photo: 9 years old, 13 today), the TV woman decided to support her family and built up a second source of income as a moderation coach
So you wanted to enjoy being a mom first?
“I agree. My twins were number 1 after they were born. I stand by that. That’s a tough decision in our business. And you feel that too. I then just looked for other fields of activity.”
Have you canceled TV offers?
“Yes, I canceled some TV offers after my twins. I would hate to commute to a different city every week to present. I just wanted to be with my family. There were also offers that didn’t suit me in terms of content, that I just didn’t want to do. In all that time, I moderated congresses and lots of other stage events, moderating is my great passion.”
How did it come about that you started working as a moderation coach?
“Years ago, the head of communications at a large bank came to me and asked if I could coach someone on their board. That’s how I accidentally found my next passion. My customers now get my experience from 3000 live broadcasts and countless stage presentations.”
Who do you coach?
“First and foremost entrepreneurs. 2022 was my most successful year as I was voted one of the top 21 best media coaches in Germany. I actually wanted to launch this in January as an online course ‘Charisma Coaching for Business Women’, but…”
What is “charisma coaching”?
“It’s about teaching women to be self-confident and charismatic. A very good business, but now the new show comes first, no ifs or buts. Thanks to my work as an entrepreneur, I feel much more mature and competent today. I practically let the ‘wind of life’ blow in my face and am pleased that ServusTV Germany and WeltN24 – as the producer of the show – rely on this competence and want me to contribute my experience.”
So there are still great TV jobs after the age of 40?
Cramer: “Yes, of course. Clever TV producers know what their viewers really want. And that is exactly what fascinates me about our station and the editorial team. They consistently focus on quality, always uncompromisingly keeping an eye on the interests of the viewers. I feel very comfortable there.”
Happily married for 21 years: Bettina Cramer and her husband Michael Cramer
How does your new everyday life as a family work?
Cramer: “The children are almost 14 now and quite independent. My husband is an entrepreneur and often travels. So we have to organize ourselves well. Our son recently made cordon bleu and our daughter made a quinoa bowl. The two of them even made a Black Forest cake together recently. It will be okay. Millions of other families master such challenges as well.”
Sounds great! It sounds as if the two are already very independent…
Cramer: “They’re of an age now where I wouldn’t put it past them – with more or less chaos in the kitchen and in the children’s rooms. Everything half as wild. “
Speaking of. What did your husband Michael Cramer say about your new TV job?
Cramer: “He said: ‘You’ve built such a successful business! Do you really want to go back on TV now?’ When I said ‘yes’ out loud, he was very happy. He knows this is the right show for me.”
21 years of marriage – what is your secret recipe?
Cramer: “Give the other everything and support him. Being together, being a team, talking, laughing, strengthening each other even in difficult times. I would marry my husband again today, even after 21 years. It’s really like that.”
