Unterföhring – TV presenter Elton received a lot of comfort and support from the German show industry after his expulsion from ProSieben. “You definitely don’t deserve to be treated like this after 23 years of working together,” said entertainer Kai Pflaume (“Hard to believe!”) a few hours after Elton’s angry Instagram post on Wednesday.
ProSieben had previously announced that the broadcaster was replacing Elton as presenter of the show “Schlag den Star” with Matthias Opdenhövel – without a farewell performance. The background is obviously conflicts over Elton’s appearances in shows on the competitor RTL. There are different versions about how the separation happened.
TV presenter Sonya Kraus (“talk talk talk”) commented on Instagram: “My darling! They’re all crazy! The show without you? I definitely won’t come now. Love you”. Actor Armin Rhode (“The Good Cop”) wrote: “Without you I won’t watch the show anymore. This is YOUR format.” Actress Sophia Thomalla (“The Mountain Doctor”) added: “It’s absolutely not possible.” Former boxer Axel Schulz wrote: “Unfortunately it’s like in sport. When you win, everyone is there, and when you lose, you’re alone.”
Presenter of “Schlag den Star” for eight years
Elton had posted on Wednesday: “To make one thing clear: I am not giving up this wonderful show voluntarily.” He had accused ProSieben of bad style: “I only found out today after my management called the Pro7 boss what was going on Rumors would be true that I would no longer be allowed to host Schlag den Star.”
Elton, now 53, hosted “Schlag den Star” for eight years. He was “really speechless, angry but above all extremely sad. I’m not even granted a farewell show after 23 years at ProSieben. Without words!!!,” Elton continued.
ProSieben boss Hannes Hiller responded to the allegations in an interview with the industry service dwdl.de on Thursday: “I’ll try with a picture from football. If someone has been playing regularly for BVB for years, but then cheers for FC Bayern more and more often in the fan block, then a question inevitably arises: When is the right time to change club?”
Several shows on RTL
Most recently, Elton, who became prominent through ProSieben broadcasts, launched several shows on the competition RTL. Around three weeks ago it was announced that the entertainer would moderate the format “The RTL EM Studio – All Games, Goals, Emotions” for RTL during this year’s European Football Championship. The show comes from Stefan Raab’s new production company.
Elton – who once became prominent on ProSieben – has been on the air with “Blamieren oder Kassieren” on RTL since October 2023 and has also been hired there for the show “Schlag den Besten”.
As a replacement for Elton, Matthias Opdenhövel returns to “Schlag den Star” on June 1st after 13 years. Opdenhövel from Cologne hosted “Schlag den Raab” from 2006 to 2011 and also “Schlag den Star” in 2010.