Friend or foe?

Vince is stunned when a stranger introduces himself as Vince’s half-brother Justin, but not everyone’s convinced.

Vince has a new brother… Weekdays SABC2 (*192) 18:30

Vince (Jacques Blignaut) has had a rough ride after being kidnapped by shady Tony (Marlo Minaar) in May and businessman Chris Welman (David Rees) crashing his car into the Deli in June. It’s no wonder that Vince’s nerves are shot and says Jacques, “He’s been on edge and he is just trying to get on with his life.” But his world is about to be turned upsidedown when Justin (Dann-Jacques Mouton), the half-brother he never knew about, rocks up in Hillside.

STRANGER DANGER

On Thursday 23 June, a man drops by the Deli late at night to see Vince, who is locking up. A jittery Vince immediately “thinks that the guy is one of Tony’s goons, so he prepares to defend himself and pounces,” says Jacques. The episode ends with the scuffle but all becomes clear on Friday 24 June when the man blurts out that he’s family and that they share a dad: Arnold Langley (Simon Bruinders). The revelation stops Vince in his tracks. “He’s confused but relieved that he’s not being robbed or worse,” explains Jacques. The man then introduces himself as Justin Langley. …but Justin doesn’t feel welcome in Hillside.

MORE FAMILY DRAMA

Vince’s wife Bonita (Hildegardt Whites) meets Justin on Monday 27 June when the trio go out for dinner and she can’t hide the fact that she is questioning Justin’s intentions. Dann-Jacques says that Justin notices the chilly vibe from his sister-in-law. “Bonita keeps on giving him icy looks. He gets the feeling that she thinks he’s only here to get his hands on Vince’s business and money, but that’s far from the truth,” he says By Thursday 30 June, Vince and Justin have bonded and Vince invites him to dinner to get to know the rest of the Meintjies family. Vince’s lawyer brother Xander ( Theo Jantjies) is also suspicious and bombards Justin with questions, then Bonita tells Justin what she really thinks. That, Dann-Jacques says, “leads an appalled Justin to storm out”.

JUSTIN’S HERE TO STAY

If Dann-Jacques looks familiar, that is because the 30-year-old made his soap debut on Binnelanders (2004current) in 2015 as pharmacist Nicolas Stegman. His 7de Laan role is a permanent one, so we’ll be seeing a lot more of Justin and says DannJacques, “I can’t wait to see in which directions the writers are going to take my character!”