Leonova and Lusin Siegen again: So Thrilling was the professional challenge!

Leonova and Lusin Siegen again: So Thrilling was the professional challenge!

RTL, Deutschland - On May 31, 2025, this year's “Let’s Dance” professional challenge took place on RTL, right after the finals of the 18th season of the popular dance show. Ekaterina Leonova and Valentin Lusin were able to look forward to winning this challenge and showed their skills in various dance disciplines, including a quick dance battle. With this victory, Lusin also defended his title, which he was able to celebrate last year when he was allowed to compete with Massimo Sinató. However, this time it was a common performance with Leonova, who also demonstrated her outstanding skills.

The second position on the podium went to the couple Evgeny Vinokurov and Mariia Maksina, while Kathrin Menzinger and Christian Polanc took third place. The fans enthusiastically celebrated the performances of the two winners on social media, especially on Instagram. This joy of appearance clearly shows how much the viewers appreciate the qualities and the charm of the dancers.

The overall record of the 18th season

The 18th season of "Let’s Dance" ended with another highlight when Diego Pooth was crowned as "Dancing Star 2025". A total of 14 celebrities took part in this season and trained daily to prepare for the challenges of the dance show. Ekaterina Leonova, who has now also reached the title of the "Dancing Stars", underlines her successful career in the reality TV scene.

reality TV is not only a popular part of the entertainment in Germany, but has also significantly increased the quotas of the transmitters. According to Statista, reality programs made up almost 40 percent of the program on channels such as RTL and VOX in 2023. Formats such as "Let’s Dance" attract an average of around 1.16 million viewers: inside and show the continuing popularity of such formats in the German television landscape.

The importance of reality TV in Germany

The phenomenon of reality TV has its roots in the United States where it started to show the life of private individuals in their everyday challenges. In Germany, shows such as "Let’s Dance" and other formats such as "The Voice of Germany" or "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" are leading in the rating game. These formats can be roughly divided into narrative, performative and scripted categories, which underlines their versatility and the persistent viewer interest.

Despite their popularity, reality programs are often criticized to distort reality and to offer a low level, which they often categorize as a trash TV. Nevertheless, the encouragement remains unbroken and the formats are increasingly being taken over by streaming services.

The success of Leonova and Lusin in the professional challenge and the crowning glory of Diego Pooth illustrate that "Let’s Dance" continues to play a central role in German reality TV format and inspires the audience.

For more information about the professional challenge and this year's “Let’s Dance” relay, see the reports from t-online.de and rtl.de . For more on the topic of reality TV in Germany, visit Statista .