Tumi says ‘I do’ to hosting duties on reality TV show

Published Jan 19, 2015

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IT WAS bound to happen that comedienne Tumi Morake (pictured) would present Our Perfect Wedding as she has been a fan of the show since its inception. Morake takes over from model and actress, Phumeza Mdabe.

“I watched the show to see the styles, what people are going for nowadays. I think about my own wedding and sometimes you look at these weddings and think, ‘my wedding was nicer’, other times you wish you had thought of the things they are now doing,” said Morake.

To her surprise, not everyone who watches the show is interested in the wedding preparations that are documented.

“I find that there is a huge contingency of viewers who are watching it for the drama. Of course, we watch reality TV for the drama, but a wedding show is kind of pushing it. If we are looking for drama it’s almost like we are hoping that things don’t go right for the bride and groom. The show is about the preparation and not what goes wrong, but people want the drama instead. They are looking for stories like: ‘is this guy gay, is he over the ex’ and all that which is unfortunate. Then again, I have learnt not to trust Twitter for how the audiences really feel because the people I meet in the street have positive feedback,” she said.

Of interest is the fact that although Morake is a fan of Our Perfect Wedding, she is not a big fan of TV presenting and this caused some conflict when the gig came her way.

“I was not sure I wanted to audition for the show. Presenting is not really something I have aimed for. Yet I love the show and that was the catch for me. My other problem is that my Nguni is really non-existent and the previous shows have been speaking those languages. I am a Tshwana who grew up in the Bophuthatswana times and all I had was Tshwana, English and Afrikaans so I was thinking, ‘how are they going to make it work with this moTshwana girl’, but we found a way.

“I have to credit the viewers as they are not stupid. They know I don’t speak those other languages fluently so they accommodate me when I do try,” she said.

Yet once she was on the show, Morake found there was more to Our Perfect Wedding than a bunch of people planning a big party.

“I’m in my element when I am chatting with the people. I have to remember that even though I am the presenter, it’s really not about me but about the people whose wedding we are showing. I have to be a fly on the wall,” she said.

The comedienne admitted that this wasn’t going to be a funny edition of the show.

“I am letting things happen organically so if something funny happens, I am not going to pretend like it wasn’t. At the same time I am not there to mock. The reason I took this show was not to mock people; that’s not what comedy is. I am not thinking because I am a comedian I should throw a joke every five minutes,” she said.

• Our Perfect Wedding airs Sunday at 7pm on Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161).

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