TELEVISION Big Brother 2001 reunion
EVERYONE HAS GOOD MEMORIES One remembers the ‘incredible laughs ... it felt like one of the best holidays I’ve had’.
Over the past 17 years I’ve been teaching, studying and raising my two sons, who were 11 and three years old at the time. Getting to know some of the other housemates and connecting with them on a personal level was most enjoyable, especially through the weekly challenge. Nobesuthu and I have developed a friendship, aka a sistahood, over the years. My most natural response would be don’t do it, lol. On second thoughts, I’d say something like, be real, be yourself and just have fun. When we participated it was all new. The people loved the show and lived with us through our time in the house.
The media was very judgmental in their approach to certain housemates. I own four companies which employ approximately 100 people.
We supply different contracting services to the sugar mills in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, Swaziland, Zambia and Mozambique. And I got married in 2008 to Melissa. Lazy days in the jacuzzi while everyone else in South Africa was at work. Yes, all of them, except Brad and Nobesuthu. I often visit Ferdi in Cape Town. We are good friends. Make sure you are single at the time. Reality shows put a huge strain on a person in a relationship. There is more to choose from. However, the quality seems to have gone down.
I’m worried that 10 years from now reality programmes will be so shocking that the people who participate in them won’t ever regain their normal lives.
It was extremely difficult for us to get back to normal life. It took many years to settle down. I have worked for and started a few companies in media and communications, then transitioned in 2012/3 into the energy, waste and fintech sector along with SME development. Incredible laughs ... it felt like one of the best holidays I’ve had. A few but we all moved into different businesses and professions and live in different provinces. Go for it! Life is about different experiences. They have become too contrived because participants know what to expect from the show’s format. Do you have a week?
I am a mom to a seven-year-old boy Daniel, I am East Coast Drive presenter on East Coast Radio, I am a qualified and practising interior designer and have just launched South Africa’s First Gin Shooter, DanTri Gin. There are so many when I think about it, but it has to be the one when I finally got to see my family. You are locked away for so long that when you see your loved ones it’s a real treat. Yes absolutely, it’s not easy because we all have our own lives but we do manage to keep in touch. What is your reason for doing it besides the money? If it were back in the day, I would say be very careful of going into a show that could change your life forever. It takes years afterwards to settle the mind. Well it’s all over the place now and has lost a little of its uniqueness.