Khanyisile Mbau (pictured) has to be one of the slickest personalities on TV.
If she’d told you a few years ago that she was going to be sought-after actress, host a talk show and have almost no bad press, would you have believed her? Probably not. And you wouldn’t be to blame because Mbau has made a name for herself by being a bad girl and relished the idea of being in the news for all the wrong reasons. If it wasn’t dating rich men and flaunting expensive cars, it was nude pictures “leaking” on the internet. It was a very sad time.
Yet, it almost came as an epiphany and the young mother decided to make an about turn and as she went on to excel in acting and hosting, we seem to hear less and less scandalous news.
With that turn came good things. e.tv took her on board and many directors have called for her acting skills. She has even shot reality shows and presented numerous awards. It’s almost like the Kim Kardashian story, where no one but Ray-J still talks about the sex tape.
With e.tv renewing her contract for the talk show Katch it with Khanyi, amid the cancellation of other shows on the channel, it proves that she is doing something right. In the past she was rumoured to have had fights with the likes of Kelly Khumalo, but the two buried the hatchet on the talk show. TV cannot get any better than that.
Katch it with Khanyi is rated as one of the most-watched shows in South Africa and with Noeleen Maholwana-Sangqu leaving 3Talk, there is really no local contender left in that genre.
Khanyi’s profile has matured to such an extent that along with the renewal of the talk show comes high-profile interviewees – such as one of the first ladies of South Africa, Thobeka Madiba Zuma. The two chat on her relationship with Jacob Zuma, the bad press he gets, her fashion sense and other girly stuff. In a way, this conversation will give us a peek into another side of the president’s life through his spouse’s eyes.
The show was once aired on the e.tv satellite dish, OpenviewHD, but proved to be so popular they brought it to e.tv so that you can watch it at no extra cost.
When she is not in the interviewer’s chair, Mbau is busy shooting scenes as an actress. She is part of the Ayeye cast and is said to have shot more than 20 short films for Mzansi Magic between 2013 and last year.
Now that’s hard work.
• Katch it with Khanyi airs every Monday at 6pm on e.tv.