When Kim Cloete joined Isidingo three years ago, it was to support Terence Bridgette’s storyline as Chico Booysens. He was jail mates with Barker Haines and Cloete was cast as Bianca, Booysens’s new wife, after Vanessa, who had tired of his physical abuse, had left him several years earlier.

“Bianca comes from humble beginnings. She grew up on the Cape Flats. When the whole beauty pageant thing started (remember, Harriet mentored Bianca while waging a catwalk war against Kimberly), it was like a Cinderella story for her. When Terence left, I had no idea what was to happen from that point on,” Cloete recalls.

Although Bridgett is no longer in the series, Cloete’s character continues to flourish, this time with two gripping storylines: one involving her as a surrogate for the influential Katlego and Jefferson Sibeko, and the other about her attraction to S’khumbuso.

“They (the writers) started to integrate Bianca with the other characters. In playing the support to the others, it gave me a chance to develop the character.

“And I was a break from the heavy stuff. I was trying to move to a more comedic stance,” she says.

When Chico left for Windhoek following his troubles with Barker, Bianca was left financially vulnerable. Given her predicament, it makes it easier to understand why she agreed to be a surrogate mother for Katlego and Jefferson’s new heir.

“Chico left her in a lot of debt. He crashed the car she had signed surety for and now people are knocking down her door. She also has a 16-year-old daughter (established in the storyline, but not introduced yet).

“Bianca is sincere in her dealings with people even though she comes from and knows hardship, but there is very little self-pity in her. She just wants things to go a little easier. Although, she was initially intimidated by their wealth and power,” Cloete explains.

“It wasn’t an easy decision. But the worse her situation was becoming, the easier the decision became. She does have a bit of a moral issue with the whole situation, but not enough to say ‘no’.”

Even worse, Bianca is all alone. Her closest confidant is Ma Agnes, and that’s about it.

Interestingly, it is this very innocence of hers that attracts S’khumbuzo, who is dating Ayanda. And, like her, he still can’t get over their stolen kiss.

“Bianca hasn’t seen any action in a long time. She is still young, only 31. Here is this beautiful man giving her all this attention, which starts out as him being protective as he feels the Sibekos are taking advantage of her,” Cloete says.

Funnily enough, Sechaba and girlfriend Lerato had a huge fight when she accused him of being the father of Bianca’s child. And Bianca didn’t help matters any with her cheeky and ambiguous response.

“I love my scenes with those two,” she chuckles. “We really have a go at each other.”

In the meantime there’s the unresolved issue with S’khumbuso.

“She is attention-starved. And being pregnant and emotional clouds her judgement. She would never consider messing around with someone else’s man. She isn’t rational at this point,” maintains Cloete.

That she actually likes Ayanda makes the situation more strained: “This is her biggest issue – she genuinely cares for and likes this girl. This is the biggest heartbreak for her. She is the last person you would want to hurt.”

Although Ayanda seems a little suspicious of the two when she sees them interact, she hasn’t picked up on anything concrete yet.

As for Bianca being drawn to bad boys, she says: “She likes saving and fixing them. She married Chico, who is a complete f**k up; he meant well, but couldn’t get his act together.

“It is exactly the same thing with S’khumbuzo. She doesn’t try to get his attention and I think that is refreshing for him. I think, more than anything else, a lot of his life is based on superficial things. With Bianca, it becomes very honest.”

Of course, there is much more drama to this love triangle, but it won’t be unravelling at lightning speed. And a cat-fight is most definitely on the cards!

• Isidingo airs on SABC3 at 7.30pm on weekdays.

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