Gold Diggers
New channel, new show, new mine – Mr Gangapersad and his character Ajay are putting bad guys away on Gold Diggers.
Gold Diggers Weekdays e.tv (*194) 20:00 “Freeze or I’ll shoot!” Ashish Gangapersad is enjoying his action role as CIA agent Ajay, a far cry from his time on Isidingo (1998- current) as timid IT guy Prada until 2014 and his short 2015 stint as lawyer Arrod on Scandal! (2005- current). Ajay slinked into town in Gold Diggers on Friday 24 February and “he’s determined to reveal the truth,” explains 33-year- old Ashish. “And he’ll stop at nothing. He’s teamed up with fearless detective Jill [Schelaine Bennett] to find the men behind the illegal gold distribution – and they will get their criminals.”
How did the Gold Diggers role come about? My agent said, “Ajay’s a cop,” and I was sold! I went for the audition. I only had a week to prepare for playing him but luckily I already had experience handling a gun – I played good-guy cop Lloyd [on local crime drama The Alliance, 2016- current]. It’s been great fun being on a soapie again. He’s very different to the other characters you’ve played. Was that difficult? It was challenging getting into his head. He’s got walls of steel and finds it difficult to separate his work and family life. Ajay often hides his emotions and shuts down, which is different from Prada, whose emotions could be written all over his face. What drives Ajay? It’s not just that he is good at his job; he’s caring and respects his colleagues. He goes over and above for Jill, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to stay out of trouble. Then he will have to save the day again. They seem to be bonding, Ajay and Jill… They’re just friends – really [laughs]. Jill doesn’t just trust people. Her criminal ex-fiancé Zakes [Lehasa Moloi] broke her heart and she’s sceptical and thinks that people are out to betray her. Ajay proves to be one of the only good guys on Jill’s side. And what have you enjoyed most on Gold Diggers? Shooting on location! Unlike a set, where most things are fake, we get to play around with natural light. And we actually shoot night scenes at night, which is a different world for me.