Ruda take us back to forgotten times

COMFORTABLE ON THE COUCH: Ruda Landman gets some of the country's most incredible female figures to chat about their life journeys on kykNET's VeranderDinge.

COMFORTABLE ON THE COUCH: Ruda Landman gets some of the country's most incredible female figures to chat about their life journeys on kykNET's VeranderDinge.

Published Jul 16, 2015

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LIKE Derek Watts, who is still with Carte Blanche, Ruda Landman remains a household name on South African television. After all, she was a tour de force, championing the truth for close on two decades.

And while she has been out of sight on prime time TV, she hasn’t been absent from the world that helped to build her career.

In fact, she hosted the Centrum Guardian TV series, a show that saluted the unsung heroes in the medical and rescue services.

Its long run might have ended, but her devotion to that show remains binding.

She says: “That started as a print campaign for Pfizer and became a 20-minute show. We met fire-fighters, paramedics, rescue swimmers... Very often, they go unnoticed unless something goes wrong and it makes the headlines. And they do such amazing work.”

Landman continues: “Interviewing is what I enjoyed most in life. When we grow up with people like ourselves, most people stay in those boxes. Journalism doesn’t allow you to do so. That was the one thing I missed, having left Carte Blanche. Every time I wax lyrical about this show, they (the guys she interviews) would say: ‘This is my job’. They are so humble.”

While still revelling in the memories, conversation moves to her latest show, VeranderDinge, on kykNET and kykNET & Kie. Although this is a lifestyle magazine show, thematically it still follows the inspirational story thread.

She notes: “I think we are in a new era when many TV shows are sponsored. In the old days, it was all paid for by the channel. Although this show is sponsored, we only mention the sponsor once, at the beginning of the show. The programme comes in three segments. The first part is a one-on-one with a woman guest. The second part is a self-help guide, like: how to get out of debt? How to start exercising? Or something on changing careers or mid-life (or as a friend put it, quarter-life) crisis.

“And, lastly, field co-host, Kim Cloete does the more quirky and off-beat interviews. In one episode, she walks the tunnels under Cape Town with Marc Lottering.”

This show isn’t covering new ground with its approach, which can be seen on myriad homegrown reality shows, not to mention talk shows, at the moment. But the guests, combined with Landman’s affability and relaxed interview style and the bubbly disposition of Cloete, are compelling drawcards.

Landman adds: “We have Carike Keuzenkamp – she’s an Afrikaans singer who’s been in the industry for years. She is 68 now. She talks about the moment that changed her life. She was 19 when a friend, whose father is a film producer, told her they needed another girl for a movie. She was cast and sang Timothy… and it changed her life.

“I also spoke to Shaleen Surtie-Richards. She told me her mum died last year and described how she had to redefine herself without her. It was painful. And she cried on camera. Amy Kleinhans is also one of our guests. She was the first non-white Miss South Africa, in 1992. We go back to those days and look at how she experienced things. She says it (winning) made such a difference to people of colour. These are the stories we have forgotten.”

Interestingly, Landman knew Cloete for a while – she was the friend of the daughter of a friend, kind of thing. And she fondly calls her, “Kimmie”.

She adds: “She is a delight. We don’t get to see each other that often, but we work together when we record the links. She’s extremely professional. But she is also fun – she has that sparkle. We are also opposites, so it’s a great partnership.”

Does she miss the hard news aspect? “I don’t,” she reveals. “It’s almost a conscious relief not having to constantly think, ‘why is this person lying to me?’ Don’t get me wrong, it is a very necessary element in society. My ex-colleagues are doing it very well. But I have served my time. Now I can sit and be positive and inspired .”

And while Landman does that, she galvanises hope with her interviews. Looks like she’s found a couch that is the perfect fit!

l VeranderDinge debuts on kykNET (DStv channel 144) on Sunday at 6pm. It will also air on kykNET & Kie (DStv channel 145).

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