Digging up dirt
Carte Blanche celebrates 31 seasons with a new anchor taking the reins with Derek Watts.
Carte Blanche Season 31 Sundays (from 1 April) M-Net (*101) 19:00
You know it’s Monday tomorrow when your lounge is filled with the theme music for actuality show Carte Blanche (1988- current). The team has been scouring the country for news stories for almost 30 years, sending reporters to uncover scandals, secrets, lies and more in the name of truth and justice. Derek Watts has been there from the start and while he’s seen and done it all, he’s quick to point out that he has had help. “Some of our viewers think that I source all the stories, shoot and edit them myself and write all the scripts. I don’t want to change that perception but our executive producer George Mazarakis might disagree!” Derek has also seen his fair share of co-presenters – we caught up with “Mr Carte Blanche” and Macfarlane Moleli, who was promoted from field reporter to co-anchor from 18 March when
Bongani Bingwa joined SABC3 News Online.
THE MAIN MAN How do you keep things fresh after 31 seasons?
I’m not sure if it is possible to be bored amid the incessant political transformations and parabola of development in science and technology!
You’re the face of Carte Blanche and have your own memes. How do you handle being an SA icon?
I really don’t see myself as an “icon” but I enjoy meeting viewers, even at the supermarket. It can be testing when they have a long story to tell for the show and my family is getting steamed up in the car.
What’s the biggest misconception viewers may have about you?
Difficult question! But I may give the impression of being very serious 24/ 7. The truth is that you have to have a sense of humour to be an investigative reporter or you might just end up on anti- depressants.
Do you have a particular story that stuck with you over the years?
A recurrent one is the death of intrepid conservationist [and Carte Blanche cameraman] Rick Lomba in 1994. He was sadly killed by a tiger as we removed starving animals from the Luanda Zoo in Angola to take them to a better life in South Africa.
Do you have a lucky charm or a favourite tie that you simply can’t shoot an episode without?
I feel lost without my steamdriven tablet computer that is way out of date but just perfect for writing questions and links.
All of this started with you and Ruda Landman. Do you miss working with her?
Ruda was an incredible working colleague and good friend. We still meet for a pre- Christmas lunch every year. I can’t believe she has been off the Carte Blanche team for more than a decade!
THE NEW GUY What was your first impression of the team?
This is a huge family – how will I fit into this group of strangers who all have so much experience?
What will surprise viewers about you?
That I’m not a serious newsreader without a sense of humour. And a lot of people are shocked that I’m quite tall. [He’s a little shorter than the 2m-tall Derek]
You’ve been with the show for six months – that’s too soon for a memorable moment, right?
I received a baptism of fire with my very first story – we were mugged in downtown Joburg, trying to cover the issue of hijacked buildings. I also cried like a baby with the next story [both in October 2017] about corporal punishment after meeting two girls who’d been victims of teacher abuse.
Is there a story you dream of still covering? Tell us a bit more about that.
I would love to speak to people who were in exile with my late brother. He disappeared for five years and we never knew where he was until my father traced him to Zambia and brought him home. He died a couple of years later and because I was still young, I never got the opportunity to really sit down with him and hear what he experienced.
What’s the number-one question you’re asked by family, friends or the public about the show?
“Aren’t you scared that the people you expose will come after you?” Of course, but I make them realise that if we don’t do the work we do, the corrupt and crooked will keep doing what they do.