“The only ticket you need to come to me is a crime”: TV judge Barbara Salesch is back. She says RTL “digged” on her to get her to make a comeback after ten years. Books were rolled before.
It’s still the same as before. If you sit directly in front of Barbara Salesch, you can definitely work up a sweat. Her gaze is clearly directed at her counterpart, the corners of her mouth hint at a smile, but one should not infer from this that a conversation on the level of a coffee trip will follow. In short: one almost expects that Salesh will now begin to teach him to tell the truth. If she were sitting in a courtroom – and not in the headquarters of the television station RTL, with Cologne Cathedral behind her.
About ten years ago, Barbara Salesch, the grande dame of the German court show, stripped off her TV robe at the age of 61 and ended her program “Richterin Barbara Salesch” after more than 2300 issues on Sat.1. Now she is 72 years old – and back.
On Monday (September 5, 11 a.m.) “Barbara Salesch – The Criminal Court” will be broadcast for the first time in the morning, now on RTL. That’s what this conversation should be about and – fortunately – not about criminal misconduct by those involved in the room.
Why is she doing it again? “RTL didn’t give up,” explains Salesch frankly. The broadcaster “drew” for months until she finally said: I’ll do it. Especially since the idea behind it has reached her more and more. “The show should be a little more modern, a little fresher,” she explains.
However, the decision to let Salesch do justice again cannot be explained entirely without the retro wave currently rolling through television. A lot has been coming back for months – such as “The price is hot” (RTL), “Go all out!” (Sat.1) and “Wetten, dass ..?” (ZDF). And when one thinks of the midday television program of the so-called noughties, Salesh quickly comes to mind, examining a suspect through her glasses. Court shows were all the rage back then.
Salesch’s ran from 1999 to 2012. In the beginning with real cases – a funny quarrel about a wire mesh fence, Stefan Raab then built a musical monument (“mesh wire fence”).
When the show switched to fictional cases and amateur actors, it became a huge hit. While the proceedings around her unfolded, Salesch – an experienced lawyer at the Hamburg Regional Court before her television job – remained calm and patiently continued to ask questions. At the time, she probably could have counted on quite a few votes in a direct election to the position of Chancellor.
Salesch says she has “not been underemployed” since she left. She bought an old farmhouse in East Westphalia, set up a gallery, got a dog and teaches art to children. But you can also tell that she’s in the mood for television again – and for the right, which some people consider to be a rather dry matter. Before starting, she immersed herself in documents. “I looked at new laws. I also checked developments in the Code of Criminal Procedure. “A lot has been added, especially when it comes to new media.”
That should actually be the difference from back then: The world has continued to be digitized. Countless videos are slumbering on smartphones – and thus evidence. “In a city like Cologne, they can no longer go unnoticed, they’re always on the move somewhere,” says Salesch. If only in the background on a photo of a plate of food. She raises an eyebrow conspiratorially. “Of course, that’s very interesting for a lawyer,” she says. “I can get that stuff.”
The cases are played again, but should be based on “true events”. Robbery, stalking, arson, theft, assault and more. “The only ticket you need to come see me is a crime,” she says.
The criticism sometimes brought forward by law colleagues that she trivializes the venerable institution of criminal proceedings continues to roll off her. “Television does not reflect everyday life. I always say that to the critics of the format. And I tell them: Be happy about it.” You can also convey justice with entertainment. “In 44 minutes I convicted or acquitted someone.”
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After a ten-year break, TV judge Barbara Salesch slips back into her robes at the beginning of September. Now she revealed that the broadcaster RTL had to persuade her for a long time and that there will be a decisive change in fashion – for the sake of health.
Barbara Salesch and Ulrich Wetzel will be back soon – with two new court shows on RTL. The judges are already looking forward to the TV comeback.
