There is one thing I like about Vuzu, it has lived up to its hype. It is fresh, current and every young South African’s go-to place for the coolest news on the local and international front.
It helps that it has seasoned presenters like Siyabonga Ngwekazi, Thomas Gumede and Lalla Hirayama on board. Ngwekazi is the snazzy dresser who is so confident on the screen he probably never does any retakes. Gumede comes with the effortless humour that has you in stitches even though he is saying something serious. As for Hirayama, she is so beautiful it’s difficult to concentrate on what she’s saying.
Then the channel introduced the collected and also beautiful Dineo Moeketsi who speaks like a dream. Fred Kayembe was also added for the ladies. With his newfound confidence and New Jack Swing haircut, Kayembe can easily be the coolest kid on the channel.
So after describing the fantastic five, it is interesting that ex-Fly Chix member, Denise Kopano Zimba has also been added to the line-up. Zimba is the one who broke away from the group to do her own thing, and one of the things is joining Vuzu.
“I am so excited to join the Vuzu team,” Zimba said.
“This is the dream job for me and I am so nervous and not too sure how to react but I believe I am ready for the challenge.”
From next Monday, Zimba gets her first take on the show and although she has been in the entertainment industry as a singer and a dancer, nothing has quite prepared her for this gig.
“I am a cabaret performer and that means I get to perform in front of people. So when I get too nervous about presenting on live TV, I am just going to think that I have been doing live performances before this anyway. Still, I am happy to try and see how far I go with this opportunity,” she explained.
But wait, there is a multitude of presenters on Vuzu already, do we really need another one? Apparently.
“When we were shooting the reality show for Fly Chix, there were some editors who liked my personality and thought it worked for Vuzu. Although we did what we had to for TV, they could see through me and offered me this opportunity which was a huge blessing on my part,” she said.
That said, as happy as she can be, Zimba has to face the fact that she is entering established territory populated by talented presenters, some of whom have been doing it for a while.
“I am not intimidated by any of them,” she said boldly.
“I always keep in mind that I have been in this industry for a number of years and I believe I can do a great job on this. That said, I have so much respect for all my new colleagues, especially Dineo Moeketsi. She has so much talent I don’t think the viewers even realise that. I sat through one of her live takes one day and I was blown away.”
• Catch Denise Zimba on Vuzu from next Monday.