BYE BYE, BONANG. It's over between SABC1 and Bonang Matheba; Bonang dumped from The Link as she moves to Mzansi Magic.

Insider sources are whispering to me that there's definitely no love lost between SABC and Bonang Matheba who once had a very close and cosy relationship.

According to insiders, SABC1 and Bonang Matheba who were a mere months ago still orbiting to work together on a new entertainment TV show for the diva entitled The Link are now galaxies apart after Bonang Matheba agreed to be the presenter of the upcoming new reality show, Clash of the Choirs on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161).

Earlier this year when Bonang Matheba left the music show, Live on SABC1 which made her, the channel and the power pop princess both expressed bona vide intentions to keep working together. Sadly, within months that relationship has now soured.

Initially it was real: Bonang Matheba wanted to remain on SABC1 to which she was loyal and where she had crafted out a loyal fanbase on the country's most watched TV channel. Likewise SABC1 wanted her to stay who've invested and built her as a name brand on their TV property Live.

Live was suddenly going through tumultuous change as the presenters who wanted to do more with their fame, expressed other bigger desires; for Bonang Matheba SABC1 saw backdoor options to repurpose her elsewhere in primetime.

Both sides held discussions around a new lifestyle and entertainment show to become Bonang Matheba's new TV vehicle. Both SABC1 and Bonang Matheba were committed to have the new untitled show on the air on SABC1 from this month. Both SABC1 and Bonang Matheba worked together on the new project which would have seen her get a primetime timeslot on weekdays on Mzansi Fo Sho.

Now The Link will go ahead on SABC1, and the show will start on SABC1 next week, but definitely with no Bonang Matheba attached anymore.

That working relationship has now however all but evaporated. It's November, there is no Bonang Matheba star vehicle project on SABC1; nor will there be anytime soon - the relationship between channel executives and Bonang Matheba has disintegrated, sources tell me. The reason: Bonang Matheba's jump to the rival Mzansi Magic channel to present Clash of the Choirs which caused a clash with the public broadcaster.

"The show [The Link] is definitely going ahead," SABC1 told me earlier this week and again confirmed it this morning. "We're just finalising the presenter," I was told. Make no mistake: Bonang Matheba would have been the presenter of this lifestyle entertainment magazine show. Now she's not.

SABC1will officially announce The Link very soon. And it won't contain anything Bonang Matheba.

ARMS WAVING WILDLY. How Bonang from SABC1's Live is influencing SABC3's My Top Billing Dream presenter search.

Imitation they say is the sincerest form of flattery - people want to be like you. And if one judges like what au courant South African celebrity most ordinary TV viewers want to be like, it would be Bonang from SABC1's LIVE.

Not only is Bonang the celebrity being imitated most in presentation and delivery style by contestants in the My Top Billing Dream presenter search which is becoming a reality show on SABC3, Bonang is also the number one choice when it comes to a fictional celebrity the contestants have to make as if they interview in a mock-interview.

The only problem is that the wild hand gestures and "Bonang-ish" presentation style is not what the weekly entertainment magazine show is looking for.

"Other celebrities people have chosen to 'interview' have been quite varied but the most common by far have been Beyonce and Mi Casa," the Tswelopele Productions production team tells me. Contestants exude a lot of "Bonang-ish" hand gestures, pointing at the camera, pitch and tone peaks which falls and rises to often and making a lot of disturbing presentation mistakes which is not the usual Top Billing way and which the judges are actually looking for.

The longrunning show is looking for a new presenter with the Cape Town and Johannesburg auditions which are still left. My Top Billing Dream will start as a reality show with 3 one hour TV specials from Saturday 23 June at 13:00 on SABC3, after which the normal Top Billing timeslot on a Tuesday from 3 July at 20:00 will become the My Top Billing Dream reality show for a few weeks.

Contestants who are planning on attending the upcoming Cape Town and Johannesburg auditions would do better to take the following advice from the producers who have seen thousands of contestants so far. "The things the judges can see almost immediately and which are not to the contestants advantage include that the person does not watch Top Billing," production crew tells me.

"The person is very shy and will speak very softly. How would they cope interviewing celebs on the red carpet if they are unable to deliver a practised piece to the judges? A lot of them also show extreme nerves. Nerves are to be expected, but what the judges are looking for in the My Top Billing Dream presenter search is someone who can control those nerves and deliver."

"Things that make contestants stand out immediately and are to their advantage are a great personality that shines through despite the nerves, a well-prepared link they present and the ability to think on your feet and deliver and impromptu feet. And smiling and engaging the camera and the audience" says the production.

"The process so far has run extremely smoothly. We have a good system in place,"I'm told. "The Protea Hotels have been great and we've had no complaints about the venues. There was an unforeseen taxi strike which started when we arrived in Durban and we had a few complaints that people were unable to get to the venue but there was nothing that we could do to remedy the situation."

"The talent has been incredible so far and we can't wait to see what Cape Town and Johannesburg still have to offer in the My Top Billing Dream presenter search."

ALSO READ: Janez Vermeiren, Top Billing presenter, who is a judge in the My Top Billing Dream presenter search and what he will be looking for in a new presenter.
ALSO READ: The My Top Billing Dream Bloemfontein auditions.
ALSO READ: The My Top Billing Dream Durban auditions.