Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Stars sparkle in Nicky’s popular interview show
On ‘Screentime’, Nicky Greenwall chats to South African celebrities. Buhle Mbonambi puts her in the hot seat
WHO HASN’T Nicky Greenwall interviewed? Besides a few politicians, I’m sure she’s interviewed almost every major South African celebrity on her shows, The Showbiz Report, The Close Up and now the excellent ScreenTime With Nicky Greenwall, on Mondays at 8.30pm on e.tv.
So why not put her in my hot seat and see how she answers?
ScreenTime reminds me a lot of Larry King Live and all those other talk shows – were they the inspiration?
Completely. Larry King, Piers Morgan and Graham Norton were the inspiration. We’re flattered people have started making the connection with those shows especially considering a large portion of our target audience have never really been exposed to that type of programming.
What differentiates ScreenTime, from say, Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN?
Well, I guess the difference is that this show focuses mainly on South African celebrities and it’s hosted by a South African who also happens to be a woman.
If you had to choose between Piers, Alan Carr and Graham Norton, who would you say is your favourite talk show host? Graham Norton – hands down. South Africa’s style of talk shows, especially celebrity interviewing, has always been rather guarded. Do you find that the celebrities that you’ve had on the show give you free rein to ask any question?
We don’t allow any celebrities on the show to dictate the line of questioning. I think we’re lucky to have built up a good reputation with other shows that we have done, so celebrities feel they can trust the process.
Have there been any ridiculous or weird requests from publicists about the line of questioning and what their client can talk about?
There are times when publicists do make requests but, like the payoff line of one of the channels we air on eNCA says, we have “No Fear. No Favour.”
The most difficult interview you’ve had on ScreenTime?
We’ve had good luck so far. We always get what we’re looking for in the end – even if it takes a while. And your favourite? I really enjoyed our episode with Khuli Chana and Pearl Thusi. AKA was also a good guest and so was Khanyi Mbau and Marc Lottering. The best guests are the ones who understand the entertainment game. They’re aware that the cameras are rolling and they need to be “entertaining”. Those types of interviewees make my job easy.
You’ve been creating and producing entertainment shows for e.tv for almost a decade. What has been your greatest achievement?
I’m not really one to spend time measuring achievements. I just feel lucky to still be in a position to make a living doing a job that stimulates me.
Greenwall Productions is doing well, as we can see with The Close Up, Screentime, Showbiz Report – any chance you might want to get into creating TV series?
We’re a small team and we’d like to keep it that way – so no, not in the near future.
If you were to create a series, would it be drama or comedy?
I’d prefer to make a documentary film or series.
What type of shows do you normally watch?
Graham Norton is my favourite. I also like Dragon’s Den and anything with Ricky Gervais in it.
Has motherhood changed the way you see the world?
To a point. I guess any experience one goes through just gives you more empathy for other people. I think I was actually quite surprised by how little motherhood changed me. I was waiting for a big paradigm shift, but I think it’s more subtle than that.
We rarely see you at big events, where other talk show hosts are seen. Are you a homebody?
I can be. Kids do tend to keep you at home. That said, I live in Cape Town, and when my boyfriend and I do go out it isn’t usually to the kind of events where one goes to have their photograph taken. I’ve interviewed enough celebrities to know that being one isn’t high on my list of priorities.
A day in the life of Nicky Greenwall…
I’m lucky that my own business allows me to be flexible with my time, so my days are split between my boyfriend, our daughter, my family and friends, and my work. Oh, and there’s sleep too!