Alles was zählt ("All That Matters") is a German television soap opera first broadcast on RTL on 4 September 2006.First airdate
Plot The original plot revolved around Diana Sommer's dream to become a world class ice skater. She fell in love with Julian Herzog, who signed her at the prestigious Steinkamp Sport and Wellness Center, run by the unscrupulous Steinkamp dynasty. Diana and Julian eventually became a couple, but in November 2007, Julian suffered a brain hemorrhage and died during their wedding. Diana remained in Essen until January 2009, when she left to join a skating centre in Halle. The story continues to revolve around the Steinkamp Sport and Wellness Centre and its quest to become a sporting powerhouse, as well as the lives of the characters who work at and around the Centre.
Backstage Information AWZ is the third daily soap on RTL, created after Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten and Unter uns. While the show is set in Essen, filming takes place in Cologne.
Tanja Szewczenko is — like Diana, the character she played — a famous German ice skater. In January 2009, she left the series to pursue her skating career.
In February 2008, AWZ was awarded Blu Magazine's Best National TV Format award for its portrayal of the relationship between Deniz and Roman. Actors Igor Dolgatschew and Dennis Grabosch accepted the award on behalf of the series."Gay Community Honors Alles was zählt", RTL Backstage, 20 February 2008 While their story was spotlighted, the "DeRo" storyline reached a wide international fanbase with over 12,000 subscribers on YouTube.EskimoKissProject subtitled in English
The series is produced by Grundy UFA productions, the same company responsible for RTL's other daily soaps. In October 2007, this show and Unter uns were part of the first-ever crossover of two soap operas in Germany, when characters from AWZ (Vanessa, Nina, and Tim) attended a concert by Mars from Unter uns (episode 289); Mars later performed an impromptu concert at the No. 7 (episode 296). In April 2010, another RTL crossover featured Helmut Orosz and Mehrzad Marashi from DSDS performing a duet in the No. 7 (episode 904).
The theme song, "Nie genug", is sung by Austrian singer Christina Stürmer; she returned with her band to perform two numbers for Ben and Isabelle's wedding, "Warum" (episode 1000) and "Juniherz" (episode 1001).
Cast Current main cast Actor Role Episodes Years Notes Tanja Szewczenko Diana Sommer, accepted, née Reichert 1–5882415– 2006–20092016–2018 Former figure skater, currently skater trainer; daughter of Jutta; grandchild of Lutz; ex-fiancée of Julian; ex-girlfriend of Oliver and Lars; ex-lover of Mike; one-night-stand of Deniz, ex-girlfriend of Brandon Tatjana Clasing Simone Steinkamp, née von Altenburg 1– 2006– Owner and manager of "Steinkamp Sports & Wellness"; mother of Maximilian (by her riding instructor when she was a teen) and of Jenny and Vanessa (by Richard); grandmother of Letizia, Alexander, Sophia, Annabelle and Henry; daughter of Friederike; half-sister of Carmen; aunt of Michelle; cousin of Constantin; wife of Richard; ex-fiancée of David; ex-girlfriend of Rafael; ex-lover of Axel; one-night-stand of her brother-in-law Rüdiger Silvan-Pierre Leirich Richard Steinkamp 1– 2006– Owner and director of "Steinkamp Sports & Wellness", now borough mayor of Essen-Schotterberg; father of Jenny and Vanessa (by Simone), Ben (by ex-lover Nadja), Marco (by ex-lover Monika) and Nikolas (by ex-lover Céline); stepfather of Maximilian; grandfather of Annabelle and Henry; brother of Rüdiger; uncle of Franziska; husband of Simone; ex-fiancé of Claudia; ex-lover of Annette Julia Augustin Vanessa Steinkamp 2–667985–13781733–17582033– 2006–20092010–201220132014– Ice-hockey player, now medicine student in practical year; daughter of Simone and Richard; sister of Jenny; half-sister of Ben, Maximilian, Marco and Nikolas; niece of Rüdiger and Carmen; cousin of Juli, Franziska and Michelle; aunt of Letizia; wife of Christoph; mother of Henry; ex-girlfriend of Ben (they broke up when they discovered they were related), Deniz, Tom and Nick; studied medicine in Boston, then returned to Essen, where she was the majority stakeholder of "Steinkamp Sports & Wellness" André Dietz Ingo Zadek 7– 2006– Ice-hockey trainer, physiotherapist and masseur at "Steinkamp Sports and Wellness", also pursued a career as a comedian for a short time; half-brother of Marie; widower of Annette; ex-boyfriend of Lena and Céline; father of Zoé; foster father of Melanie, Diana's fiancée, owner of "MultiFriends" Juliette Greco Lena Bergmann 181–16081772– 2007–20132013– (1st actress in the role)Ballet teacher and fitness trainer at "Steinkamp Sports & Wellness"; daughter of Peter; sister of Annette; half-sister of Katja; cousin of Ronny; ex-wife of Robin van Kampen, Maximilian and Marian (married for immigration reasons and subsequently began dating); ex-girlfriend of Ingo, Mike and Florian; ex-lover of Oliver, Rafael and Thomas; mother of Alexander (with Maximilian), ex-affair of Patrick Igor Dolgatschew Deniz Öztürk 229– 2007– Co-owner of "Pumpwerk" together with Jenny. Jenny's boyfriend. Former management intern/Richard’s personal assistant at "Steinkamp Sports and Wellness"; formerly pursued careers as hockey player, rentboy, pair skater with Stella and Roman, fashion model, gay callboy and owner of car service; son of Veronika and Marian; father of Jonas (with ex-lover Jessica); cousin of Can; grandchild of Melek; ex-boyfriend of Nina, Vanessa, Roman, Melanie, Sarah and Sonja; ex-lover of Stella, Jessica, Franziska, and Bea; one-night-stand of Annette, Diana, Kaja, Patrick, Zoé, Katja, Letizia and numerous punters. Jörg Rohde Ben Steinkamp, accepted, né Roschinski 802– 2009– (2nd actor in the role)Owner of the club "A40"; former managing "Steinkamp Sports & Wellness" alongside Richard and Maximilian; illegitimate son of Nadja and Richard, half-brother of Jenny, Vanessa, Marco and Nikolas; nephew of Rüdiger; cousin of Franziska; ex-husband of Isabelle and Bea; fiancé of Carmen; ex-boyfriend of Katja, Vanessa, Julia and Iva; one-night-stand of Zoé and Raquel Ania Niedieck Isabelle Reichenbach 905–23852632– 2010–20162017– Professional figure skater who took first place in the Essen Cup, then working as trainer/skating consultant at "Steinkamp Sports & Wellness", finally waitress in the "No. 7"; daughter of Helena and Philipp; sister of Tom; half-sister of Larissa; mother of Sophia (with Maximilian); wife of Johann; ex-wife of Ben and Maximilian; ex-girlfriend of Thomas; ex-lover of Marco, Felix and Tim; one-night-stand of Leo and various others Kaja Schmidt-Tychsen Jennifer "Jenny" Steinkamp 1325– 2011– (3rd official actress in the role)Former figure skater, currently co-owner of "Pumpwerk", former temporary owner "Steinkamp Sports & Wellness" and skater trainer; daughter of Simone and Richard; sister of Vanessa; half-sister of Ben, Maximilian, Marco and Nikolas; niece of Rüdiger and Carmen; cousin of Juli, Franziska and Michelle; mother of Annabelle (with David); aunt of Letizia and Henry; wife of Veit; ex-wife of Julian and Axel; ex-girlfriend of Lars and Hendrik; ex-lover of Maximilian, Marian and Marco; one-night-stand of David, girlfriend of Deniz. Lars Korten Christoph Lukowski 2108– 2015– Management consultant, partner of "Steinkamp Sports & Wellness"; father of Iva and Henry; husband of Vanessa; ex-husband of Sylvie; one-night-stand of Tina Franziska Benz Michelle Bauer 2372– 2016– Figure skater at "Steinkamp Sports & Wellness"; daughter of Carmen and Vincent; niece of Simone and Richard; cousin of Maximilian, Jenny and Vanessa; great-cousin of Letizia, Alexander, Sophia, Annabelle and Henry; one-night-stand of Leo, testimonial of Jenny and Deniz' "Pumpwerk"-campaign, fake-girlfriend of Tim, on-off-girlfriend of Ronny Heike Warmuth Carmen Bauer 2375– 2016– Businesswoman, manager of "No. 7"; mother of Michelle; half-sister of Simone; aunt of Maximilian, Jenny and Vanessa; great-aunt of Letizia, Alexander, Sophia, Annabelle and Henry; fiancée of Ben; ex-girlfriend of Vincent Cheyenne Pahde Marie Schmidt 2468– 2016– (2nd actress in the role)Figure skater at "Steinkamp Sports & Wellness"; half-sister of Ingo; aunt of Zoé; ex-girlfriend of Leo and Tobi; ex-lover of Milan Daniel Buder Vincent Thalbach 2524– 2016– Father of Michelle; ex-boyfriend of Carmen, luxury car-dealer and a ruthless high-profile criminal known as the "Transporter" Bela Klentze Ronny Bergmann 2563– 2016– Carpenter; nephew of Peter; cousin of Annette, Lena and Katja, on-off-boyfriend of Michelle Maike Johanna Reuter Pauline Reusch 2793– 2017– Nurse Christian Feist Damian Steinkamp 2821– 2017– Lawyer, cousin 2nd degree of Richard and Rüdiger
Former main cast Actor Character Episodes Years