Gütersloh/Cologne, 09/22/2023

UFA Serial Drama Cooperates With German Stroke Foundation

Aiming at better educating the public about the disease, UFA Serial Drama and the German Stroke Foundation have again collaborated to place the topic in a TV series – in “Alles was zählt”. In the series, Deniz Öztürk, played by Igor Dolgatschew, suffers a stroke. The role of the stroke guide is played by Bianca Naß, an actual guide. The episode of the TV series will air on November 22 on RTL.

Following their cooperation in 2019, UFA Serial Drama and the German Stroke Foundation are again working together by bringing the topic of strokes to screens in the RTL daily “Alles was zählt” in the form of a story about Deniz Öztürk, played by Igor Dolgatschew. A stroke guide from the German Stroke Foundation is cast in a supporting role. The episode of the TV series will air on November 22 on RTL and will be available one week earlier on the streaming service RTL+.

“Our daily UFA Serial Drama series mirror real life,” said Damian Lott, Producer UFA Serial Drama. “Always with a dash of ‘larger than life’, but often right from the midst of society, with topics we may encounter every day. In ‘AWZ’, the character of Deniz Öztürk suffered a stroke after surgery, and with the help of his family and friends he fights his way back to having a normal life. For this important, socially relevant topic we can build on the support of the German Stroke Foundation, which stands by our side with its expertise to tell the story in an emotional yet credible way. Highlighting such topics will always be of great importance to us, and we consider it an important aspect of our daily work.”

Actual stroke guide plays a supporting role

Education and visibility are important tasks of the German Stroke Foundation, which was founded in 1993 by Liz Mohn. Following a story for “Unter uns” – also produced by UFA Serial Drama for RTL – in 2019, the foundation has again cooperated with UFA Serial Drama for a storyline. This fall, the foundation is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and to mark the occasion, a special narrative related to the disease will be included in “Alles was zählt”: Bianca Naß, an actual stroke guide, plays the role of a guide who supports Deniz with follow-up care; in the TV series, she representatively enacts her tasks and stood in front of the cameras with Igor Dolgatschew. In real life, Bianca Naß cares for stroke patients at the Helios Klinikum Schleswig.

“A stroke guide accompanies stroke patients from the beginning of their hospital stay to the end of the goal – the path back into their own home,” explained Bianca Naß. “Their job includes many organizational tasks, such as taking care of therapy times and locations and, above all, providing counseling for health issues. I also consider myself a motivator for tackling all necessary measures.” The character was added into the story about Deniz through the cooperation with chief authors Ramona Becker and Paul Becker as well as script editor Thomas Zorn and Mario Leisle, press officer of the German Stroke Foundation, aiming to make an important contribution to the visibility of this disease.

“Stroke Foundation was a great enrichment”

“Education about strokes is very important to us, but unfortunately it is very difficult to reach the public since many people quickly shy away from the topic,” said Mario Leisle, press officer of the German Stroke Foundation. “Therefore, a daily series with numerous viewers is very suitable for this purpose because we can highlight the topic in a more playful way.” In a joint statement by Ramona Becker and Paul Becker, chief authors of “Alles was zählt”, they commented: “Many patients have to overcome numerous hurdles after suffering a stroke. The fear of the illness continues to be present. Unfortunately, not all of them seek help; they try to get by on their own not only with the moderately severe consequences of their stroke but also with the psychological issues that often arise. Therefore, we wanted Deniz’s story not to end with his hospital discharge but show that the psychological and physical effects of stroke continue well beyond that. Being able to work with the Stroke Foundation was a great enhancement for us because, although most of us have an understanding of what a stroke means, the solutions and actions for dealing with it are unfamiliar to many people. In this context, the role of the stroke guide was to set a positive impulse for the story and, at the same time, more strongly emphasize the serious topic.”

“Alles was zählt” is a production of UFA Serial Drama. Damina Lott is the producer, and Daniela Kerscher the creative producer of the series. The RTL editors are Katharina Katzenberger and Saskia Budde, and Christiane Ghosh the executive producer. “Alles was zählt” airs on weekdays at 7:05 p.m. on RTL and is available anytime on RTL+.