Put it on spin cycle
A softer Samantha has a new lease on life and a new attitude.
Catriona Andrew knows exactly how to add a “mean streak” to her roles. Who can forget the British-born 43-year- old’s debut role as spoilt rich girl Jane Edwards on Egoli: Place Of Gold (1992-2010)? She left the soap in 2004 after nine years and the role was taken over by Corine du Toit. The change in Jane’s appearance was explained by cosmetic surgery following a horse riding accident, but the character was never the same.
While Catriona is still playing Samantha on Erfsondes (2007- current), like Jane, Samantha has undergone changes. “Jane was who she was because of money – a brat. Samantha was a result of her circumstances,” says Catriona. “She followed the harsh life she was brought up in, but now that she is a mom to Lungi ( Tiyana WIlliams), she is a lot softer and more, well, motherly. [Laughs]”
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF
Sam and Jane had their similarities, like coming from a wealthy family, but Sam is more of a victim. “Her past sent her to jail in season 3 (2010) after going on a crime spree that included kidnapping, as well as taking revenge on her twin brother Chris (Emmanuel Castis) and his wife Kate (Jana Kruger) by kidnapping their daughter Katie,” says Catriona. But it’s different in season 6, reveals the actress. Samantha and her hubby Vuyo (Bono Mbutuma) live in a fancy apartment in the Maboneng precinct and they help street children. They’re a mixed race couple who are making it work with ease – love really does conquer all,” laughs Catriona.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Catriona says that she’s more like her Erfsondes character, being a mother to her six-year- old daughter Kenzi with her entrepreneur partner Nicolas Schwartz. They’ve been together for over 18 years and swapped Joburg for Cape Town in 2014. That doesn’t mean “the place of gold” has left her. “I’m still in contact with some of the actors from Egoli, like Christel Smith (Tarien) who lives in New York, as well as Nthati Moshesh (Lerato). I’m just glad people know me as Catriona the person on the streets and not as Sam or Jane. I am Catriona.”