A massive snake that was thought to have escaped inside the SABC on a TV set is safely with its snake handlers and SABC staff need not fear running into the lurking serpent.
SABC staff - referred to internally as "First Citizens" - are safe, with the snake that will make its debut on South African TV screens from this coming Monday.
Insiders gossiped that a snake brought onto the Generations - The Legacy set recently slithered off the SABC1 soap's set at Henley Studios at the public broadcaster's Auckland Park headquarters and mysteriously went missing.
While some people thought there was now a yellow albino Ball python loose inside the SABC, the snake was actually removed by its trainers, following the filming of scenes in November last year.
Fearful SABC staffers and soap stars who thought the snake had escaped, were assured that the snake was removed and never actually went "missing".
"It was a misunderstanding," says a spokesperson. "The snake has always been with its trainers and had left the premises when it was supposed to. The snake is well-trained and not poisonous". The snake is currently with its trainers and handlers.
SABC1 viewers will be able to see the snake when it makes its debut on Monday on Generations - The Legacy at 20:00 and will feature in the prime time soap as a constant feature for about three months.
An inyanga will drape the snake over Tshidi (Latoya Makhene) after she emerges from a bath drenched in blood as part of her new "secret weapon" on Monday night, as part of her and Gadaffi's plan to get spiritual protection from their enemies including her ancestors.
The snake is to protect Tshidi - something she's not allowed to tell anyone about - and she realises that she and Gadaffi are in over their heads. The inyanga then tells Tshidi that the snake will tell her when it wants to feed - and what ...
