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Dramatic death for Roman Wild
Dennis Grabosch leaves Alles was zählt on September 15, 2011

Click here for the announcement in German on RTL.de

On September 15, 2011, the death of Roman Wild will mark the end of an era on the RTL show Alles was zählt. After five years, popular actor Dennis Grabosch (33) is leaving the show to devote himself to new projects. As Dennis Grabosch says, "I'm currently working together with two writer friends on revisions for a novel I had originally drafted as a movie script. And I'm collaborating with former AWZ colleagues on a project that will see us together in front of the camera again if all goes well."

On the show, Roman recently learned that he has a brain tumour. The trainer and figure skater doesn't tell anyone that he's going to die. The only ones who know are his boyfriend Deniz Öztürk (Igor Dolgatschew) and his brother Florian (Michael N. Kuehl). Eventually it happens on the ice, during a rehearsal for a performance: Roman collapses and dies in his boyfriend Deniz' arms. Dennis Grabosch's response to the writers' idea to let the beloved character die: "It's a good thing that Roman died. That means there'll be no coming back. Roman dies on the ice because he was a skater first and foremost. In retrospect, his death completes a beautiful arc for the character." Fans around the world are grieving, because thanks to the Internet, AWZ has attracted many international fans from places such as New Zealand, Canada, Holland or Japan.

But his death on the ice is not the last we'll see of Roman Wild: The character will still appear on screen in flashbacks and goodbye messages to his closest friends until October 7 (episode 1282) and again in episode 1299, airing on November 1, 2011. "I got my skating shoes as a goodbye gift," says Dennis. "But the best thing was that so many people came to see me off. André Dietz sang and played guitar. And there were lots of tears."

Dennis Grabosch has returned to London as his main place of residence where he lives with his husband Brent Magee, to whom he's been married for four years. Before diving into his new projects, he's taking a break for a few weeks. He particularly enjoys visits to Brompton Cemetery, where many Londoners like to go for runs and walks. "This is a good place for me to sort my thoughts. The cemetery has an incredibly serene and peaceful atmosphere." Dennis Grabosch fell in love with London when he was still a little boy: "Mary Poppins was my first heroine. We live near a park like the one I always imagined when I used to watch the movie. Besides, I like the British way of life. There's much more tolerance here than in Germany."

On Thursday, August 25, 2011, "IN" magazine will publish a big interview with Dennis Grabosch about his new life in London and his new projects. In addition, RTL.de will air an exclusive goodbye feature about Romans death on the ice for all fans of Roman and AWZ, with interviews and scenes of the shoot in the ice rink. Actors Dennis Grabosch and Igor Dolgatschew will share some of their experience with this highly emotional scene.


Source: RTL.de, translation by EKP