- Bid Adieu to RTL Direct in a Leisurely Manner
74-year-old Jan Hofer recently parted ways with the news program "RTL Direkt" and its streaming platform RTL+. During his farewell speech, he mentioned his surprise guest, colleague and newsreader Pinar Atalay (46), who made a visit to the studio as revealed in a clip shared on Hofer's Instagram account.
After Atalay praised him, highlighting his impressive career as a newsreader on "Tagesschau," and referring to him fondly as "the one and only 'Mister News'," Hofer responded, "I guess I've been there, no matter what. For decades now, I've been invading people's living rooms." Seemingly calm and holding a bouquet of flowers, Hofer continued, "I'm good. I'm not disappearing entirely. You might see me popping up here and there, but not on 'RTL Direkt'."
Hofer also shared his heartfelt farewell speech on his Instagram, including a humorous remark: "I bet we'll cross paths again somewhere - but definitely not in the jungle, that's for the true legends," he chuckled.
With Hofer's departure, Atalay will be the sole main presenter. They had been sharing duties since August 2021. Lothar Keller (59), previously part of the extended presentation team for "RTL Nachtjournal", will temporarily fill in.
Family matters
The change in career for Hofer was driven by family concerns. He revealed to "Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland" that his daily life and family time, specifically with his wife and son, were affected. Spending more than half the year in Berlin for "RTL Direkt," while his family resides on Mallorca, had taken a toll on his personal life.
Hofer tied the knot with his 28-years-younger partner, Phong Lan, and mother of his son born in 2015, back in October 2018. In addition, he also has three children from a previous relationship.
Good day, it was a pleasure working with you for so many years, Hofer said during his heartfelt farewell speech. Despite parting ways with RTL Direkt, he assured his followers that they might still see him popping up here and there.
