The great Rudi Carrell would have loved to host "Let's Dance"

Rudi Carrell (1934-2006) was without question one of the greatest German-language entertainers of recent decades. If he were still alive today, he might be hosting the popular RTL dance show "Let's Dance". His daughter Annemieke (68) reveals shortly before the 20th anniversary of the TV legend's death that he would have loved to host the show. However, that doesn't mean that the great Carrell would have fundamentally approved of today's television landscape.

"'Let's Dance' would have interested him"

"If he saw this, he would probably be screaming", explains Annemieke Kesselaar-Klar in an interview with "Bild am Sonntag". Her father would probably wonder: "Did I never exist? Have you never learned anything from me?" The era of classic TV entertainers is long gone. Carrell's daughter believes that he would miss such show personalities. At the same time, she reports: "'Let's Dance' would have interested him, that's a show he would have loved to host." Her late father had also said this once when he was still alive.

Rudi Carrell died on July 7, 2006, from the consequences of cancer. The native Dutchman became one of Germany's most popular and well-known showmasters and entertainers over the years. With formats like "Am laufenden Band", "Rudi Carrell Show", "Die verflixte 7" or "Herzblatt", he probably anchored himself forever in the minds of millions of viewers.

"Let's Dance" has meanwhile become one of the most popular recurring TV formats on German television. The German version premiered a few months before Carrell's death. The first season was hosted by Nazan Eckes (50) and Hape Kerkeling (61) at the time. For many years now, Victoria Swarovski (32) and Daniel Hartwich (47) have been doing this job.

Even today, Annemieke still thinks about her father, who died 20 years ago. "I still have the feeling that I need to call him quickly to tell him a funny story", she tells the Sunday newspaper. "Then I suddenly realize: 'That's not possible, he's not there anymore.'" But even though there were "daddy moments", Carrell "lived for television".