BREAKING. Generations cast refuse to sign new contracts; many of the soap's biggest names now face the threat of being written out.

The biggest names in SABC1's Generations - South Africa's biggest soap and the country's number one TV show in viewership for over two decades - are refusing to sign new contracts, with a looming threat that they will be written out of the SABC's biggest weekday TV cash machine.

The cast and crew of Generations will return to the SABC tomorrow, Monday, after they've been gone for two weeks.

The Generations contract revolt comes after Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the SABC's acting chief operating officer (COO) and famously matricless enfant terrible, announced in June at a Generations party for the soap's 20th anniversary, that the production company, Morula Pictures, is now getting 3 year renewal contracts instead of the one year contracts which has been the case up to now.

Longtime Generations cast members who feel that they've helped the show grow and maintain its 8 million viewers through season after season, are insistent that they also get bumped up from one year, to three year contracts, to share in the more longer term renewal prospects of the prime time soap.

Now veritable South African soap royalty like Sophie Ndaba who plays Queen and who is the longest remaining soap star on the show, Menzi Ngubane, Katlego Danke and several actors such as Xolisa Xaluva, Anga Makubalo, Thami Mngqolo and others who play beloved Generations characters are facing the threat of being written out  of the soap and the actors dumped from the Mfundi Vundla produced show if new contracts are not signed.

Generations has not publicly responded yet with any kind of statement regarding new contract negotiations with longstanding members of the soap's cast, but according to insiders the soap stars want higher remuneration because they want to share in the success of the show.

They also want contracts of longer that one year since the production company is getting longer term renewal deals, and thought that would automatically means extended contract lengths for them as well. The contracts they refuse to sign are again for a one year period.

Earlier this month SABC1's acting channel head Sam Mpherwane said Generations remains in strong demand under viewers and that SABC1 and Generations "is happy to create new stars".

Generations remains the cornerstone of not just SABC1's programming line-up, but of the entire SABC, remaining a strong cash generating machine for the public broadcaster with expensive rates for advertising timeslots due to the huge number of viewers.