AFTER making an indelible impression as Emma le Roux for 12-and-a-half years on 7de Laan, Bertha le Roux has decided to call it quits. She is freeing up her schedule to avail herself to movie and theatre opportunities.
Le Roux explains, “It’s difficult to do that when you are working on a soap. Normally, scheduling is a problem. And we are quite busy as characters. And I just think Emma has gone as far as she can go.”
As for when she decided that the time had come for change, the actress says, “Well, I have been thinking about it for a long time. It’s difficult to have something steady. As an actor, I have been blessed by having 7de Laan. I wanted to act because it offered variety and fed into my passion.”
Expanding on the scope Emma got with story arcs that yo-yo’d from uproarious to dramatic, she recalls her most memorable.
“I was pregnant with my first baby,” she notes. “They needed a storyline to write me out for my maternity leave. There was a guy who stalked me with fairy tales. For me, it was fun. My character had to play this frightened damsel in distress. Then it branched out. He captured her and put her in a glass coffin with rose petals. It was a totally Days of Our Lives-type of story.”
Le Roux adds, “It was one of the most dramatic storylines they (7de Laan) have done. Of course, her husband comes to save her. Then she started to have hallucinations about these life-size garden gnomes. Yep, that definitely stands out as one of the big ones.”
Emma’s interesting romantic dalliances aside, she also revealed that the storyline around her tying the knot with Ryno was another one that stuck with her as it mushroomed into myriad comedic situations.
The actress jokes, “I think she has done just about everything now.” So how is she spending her free time (Emma’s final scenes air this week but the actress has already left) these days?
She reveals, “You know, I really wanted to spend time with my kids. I have two little girls: one is 7 and the other is 4. And they have been amazing. In fact, they inspired my new venture – Godliedjies. It’s a DVD of songs for kids, which will be out next year. This year, I’m doing shows at schools and nursery schools. It is like a Wielie Walie about Jesus.” Now for the interesting bit – how does she exit?
“Emma is stalked by her ex, Rick,” she reveals. “He has been in her life for about four years. They fell in love. Then she realised that something is not right with this guy. He turned out to be very jealous. He tried to burn Emma and her son alive in her flat. That was also a challenging storyline. Then he left to get psychiatric help, came back, they got married – and he lost it again and tried to abduct her child and got into a car accident…”
In a nutshell, he is like the baddie in a movie – the one that keeps coming back no matter what. This time, he has decided that Emma is an unfit mother and he would make a better parent.
And so she, like any mother, goes into survival mode to protect her family.
While her action may be deemed heroic, it might matter little in the eyes of the law.
With the real-life sagas of women abuse and violence emerging in the Oscar Pistorius and Shrien Dewani trials, this surreal twist in Emma’s tale will leave viewers gripped. Be sure to tune in this week.
• 7de Laan airs on SABC2 on weekdays at 6.30pm.