Cape Town star Emo Adams has been named as Johan Stemmet’s successor for the musical game show ,"Noot vir Noot".
Emo, 41, told the Daily Voice he was stumped when he received a phone call from Johan offering him the job of hosting South Africa’s longest running TV game show.
"Johan called me personally to ask me to host a show of this calibre. For the first few minutes I wasn’t focused, but after the call, I told my wife, 'I think he just asked me to do his job'," Emo says.
“This is the equivalent of Trevor Noah taking over from Jon Stewart at "The Daily Show". It’s an honour to be the new presenter.”
After 29 years and 43 seasons of hosting, Johan bid farewell to the evergreen show in January this year.
Speaking about his successor, Johan, 66, who is also the show’s executive producer and director, said he could find no better replacement than Emo.
“A better artist, performer, presenter, all-around entertainer than Emo will be hard to find. Emo is cut out for this role and he will certainly take the show to greater heights.
“He is a great choice to take the presenting role over from me and, as director of the show, I am so looking forward to working closely with him for many years to come.”
He said viewers should prepare for the funky new host and a whole new format.
The new look sees the exit of the band and welcomes DJ Shelley, whose real names in Rochelle de Bruyn.
The charismatic Johan is famous for his colourful shirts and waistcoats and memorable catchphrases, which have become associated with the show.
Emo, who has performed numerous times on "Noot vir Noot" over the years as a guest artist, says he is very nervous about stepping into Johan’s shoes.
"It’s all really overwhelming, I can never fill Johan’s shoes because it’s Johan Stemmet, so they are revamping the whole show," he says.
“The show will be built around me and my personality, the music style will be for a younger audience without alienating the existing audience.”
He says it is not expected of him to be a ' tweede[second] Johan': “He was very open with me about this. He said 'just be you, Emo'."
The Mitchells Plain-born entertainer says he is grateful that the “right people” are noticing his hard work and dedication.
"It's even more special that people from the Cape Flats are responding so positively; people are saying ‘ daai’s osse laaitie[that's our child]’. Someone told me I give laaities [children] from the Cape Flats hope.”
Emo is currently the presenter, creative director and executive producer of "Maak My Famous," a talent show, kicking off on 18 April on kykNET.
The 44th season of "Noot vir Noot" kicks off on 15 August on SABC 2 and will broadcast on Thursdays at 7pm.