"ZDF-Fernsehgarten" turns 40 Andrea Kiewel: "We had to send the audience home for safety reasons"
Young people no longer watch television? The "ZDF Fernsehgarten" shows that this is not true. The TV show has been running for 40 years. Presenter Andrea "Kiwi" Kiewel talks about her career, her dream guest and hate on the Internet.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- If you switch on ZDF at midday on Sundays from May to September, for almost 26 summers you will usually see one face beaming back at you: that of presenter Andrea Kiewel.
- The 60-year-old, affectionately known as "Kiwi" by her fans, is the figurehead of the morning show "ZDF-Fernsehgarten".
- The open-air spectacle first went on air on June 29, 1986. The new season starts on Sunday, May 10, at 12 noon.
- To mark the 40th anniversary, Kiewel, who has lived in Tel Aviv since 2017, looks back on her career and the changes in the industry brought about by social media and streaming.
Andrea Kiewel, the TV show "Fernsehgarten" is 40 years old. You yourself have been the face of the show for over two decades. What are you particularly proud of?
To be honest, the greatest luck and the best success is that our "Fernsehgarten" is as young, crisp and fresh as it was on the first day. It has become a popular Sunday ritual for many families, and what the children of 40 years ago watched with their parents and grandparents, they now watch with their own children. That's why our show is the most wonderful "we" feeling on German television. You're not alone with your passion, we're one big family.
Can a 40-year-old concept still be relevant in today's fast-moving television world?
This unique mixture of live broadcasting from Mainz and the viewers at home is the secret of the show: summer, festival atmosphere, cool music. More and more young people are coming to us and celebrating life. There's hardly anything else like it. Our viewers really want to be part of the show. They shout, dance, wave and greet their parents at home on screen - television you can touch. I celebrate us for that!
Nevertheless, it seems amazing that something like this still works in the age of streaming ...
I don't feel any competition. We entertain and want to make people happy, which for me rules out any idea of competition per se. The "Fernsehgarten" has a very solid fan base. It's like German Schlager: the heart beats in the right place for both. Both are made with great passion. Many people of all ages like it - and that's wonderful.
Which programs do you particularly remember?
The two Mallorca editions of "Fernsehgarten", which literally fell through, were special shows for my entire team. We had to send the viewers home with a heavy heart for safety reasons and still continue broadcasting, as if we always automatically had a plan B in our pockets. We did a bit of magic and improvisation, which was very, very cool.
Fans always enjoy special editions of the show. Was the "Heavy Metal" edition your idea?
All "Fernsehgärten" and topics are teamwork. We decide together. The "Rock im Garten" TV garden once started as a trial balloon and is now a permanent program due to its great success. I've never been to Wacken. But I know Holger Hübner and his team - people of honor and great role models.
Who else would you like to see on your stage?
Peter Maffay would be very, very, very great. He's been one of my favorite artists since my parents finally gave me a cassette recorder in the mid-80s. I can sing along to all Peter Maffay songs. All of them!
Would his visit be an exciting situation in which even you, as an experienced presenter, would get stage fright?
I always have stage fright, just like on the first day. It doesn't get any better. But at least I'm prepared for it now ...
Is that one reason why you've never really presented another entertainment program for any length of time?
I created my very own "Andrea Kiewel bubble" years ago. The "Fernsehgarten" is my dream job. And this dream job is part of my life.
How do you feel about Stefan Mross, your "rival" on "Immer wieder sonntags"?
Stefan and I were and are not competitors. We like and respect each other. When Stefan appears on my show, it's always a great pleasure.
You've been in the public eye for decades. What has helped you not to lose yourself in the process?
I go completely underground, very rarely go to TV events, avoid red carpets and social media and instead fill myself with real things: The sea, museums, books, art, architecture, good conversation, board games. I have a small but close circle of friends. We are there for each other, so it doesn't matter who earns their money with what.
Today, every show is immediately commented on online. How do you deal with all the things that are written about you?
The increasingly harsh tone on Facebook, Instagram and the like is frightening. People are working away at us, even though we've never met. I'm glad I hardly notice any of it. Not because it doesn't exist, but because I have made a very conscious decision to have nothing to do with it. And if I do get a hate comment, my loved one comforts me. That helps a lot.
What do you wish for the future of "Fernsehgarten"?
I am very happy and infinitely grateful for my planned long-term collaboration with ZDF as a TV gardener. My colleagues have been my family for 26 summers now. Something like this only happens once in a lifetime. And no, we're not leaving each other - I knock on wood three times.
