Fun-uncle daycare
Denzil fills the father-figure hole and wins Vanessa’s heart.
When Denzil (Jaques de Silva) arrived in Hillside at the start of 2021, the last thing the OppieKoffie coffee shop boss expected to find was love and salvation. “He was a recently divorced man whose daughter died in a drowning accident offscreen,” says Jaques, whose character has always been sensitive towards being a father. “He was somewhat wary and cautious when he started dating widowed momof-one Vanessa ( (Ingrid Paulus) in mid 2021 because she has a young daughter named Karmen (Gabriella Linton). Denzil loves children but he also knows that it won’t be easy in this relationship.” But this fortnight he’s going to be doing his best to win more of Vanessa’s heart.
ADDING THINGS UP
With a busy day at the office trying to come up with an important proposal for a government tender, Vanessa asks her boyfriend Denzil to help Karmen with her homework. “It’s been a while since Denzil did schoolwork but he’s more than happy to help,” explains Jaques. “Denzil wants to spend time with this little girl because she’s part of Vanessa’s world and so is he, so they have to co-exist and he wants that to be a good relationship.” But Karmie being herself is putting up a bit of a fight with “fun uncle Denzil). She’s full of sass and spunk. She likes Denzil but keeps him on his toes. Remember that Karmen still believes that her lawyer father Xander Meintjies (Theodore Jantjies, he was Jordan on Afrikaans soap Getroud Met Rugby), who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in January 2021, is alive. “She believed that he would be at her birthday party and when he wasn’t, she was sad,” says Jaques. And while Denzil knows he won’t replace Xander, he’s doing his best to be a father figure.
BUILDING BLOCKS
Jaques says that this storyline is significant for Denzil and Vanessa’s romance. “They’re not young and in love. They have established lives and careers. They have loved before and have chosen to love again.” He adds that Karmen is part of that love. “They’re navigating this wonderful storm filled with love but tempered by responsibility and another human (Karmen) who needs to be negotiated with.” Will it bring them closer? “Definitely. Denzil doesn’t look at Vanessa as coming with baggage. He sees Karmen as a bonus and she’s going to be important to his life. She will help Vanessa and Denzil define their relationship,” says Jaques, who is a father to two girls himself: Lyla (7) and Zadie (2). “My daughters are firecrackers and intelligent too, but they’re not on Karmen’s level… yet!” Jaques says with a laugh.