Veteran actor and presenter Lieb Bester dead at 72 shortly after battling with Covid-19.

by Thinus Ferreira

The veteran actor Lieb Bester has died shortly after he battled Covid-19. He was 72.

The co-presenter of Met 'n Huppel in die Stap in kykNET (DStv 144) died on Wednesday morning in Pretoria.

Lieb Bester was hospitalised twice for Covid-19 and during his second hospitalisation on 3 July said that it "was a miracle" that he had survived. He was first hospitalised for Covid-19 on 24 June during which his kidneys were only functioning 27% but improved to 40%. He was discharged from hospital on 13 July and was recuperating at home.

Lieb Bester leaves behind his daughter Nicole.

Lieb Bester is known for roles in Afrikaans TV soaps like kykNET's Villa Rosa and Binnelanders and in drama series like Spoorloos, as well as in Arsenaal on SABC2. 

Other TV roles included appearances in Sterk Skemer, the presenter of the forensic crime show Kriminele Meesterbrein on kykNET, Ietermagô, Fluiters, Jackpot, Justice for All, Soldier Soldier of the BBC, Paradys, Opdrag, TJ 7, Phoenix en Kie, Sleurstroom, Die Avonture van Joachim Verwey, Grondbaronne, Agter Elke Man, Triptiek II, as well as Dis Koud Hier and the mini-series Saints, Sinners and Settlers.

In films Lieb Bester appeared in the shortfilms My Gelykenis (2019) and Stof (2003), Winnie Mandela, Stander, Panic Mechanic, Agter Elke Man, Savage Encounter, Een Skoenlapper, Die Rebel, Liefste Madelein, Hank, Hennery & Vriend, Jakkalsdraai se Mense, Die Vierde Kabinet, If This be Treason, Joburg Blues, Mirage Eskader, Adam, The Making of the Mahatma, Ses Soldate, Skadu's van Gister and Seun van die Wildtemmer in 1973.

Lieb Bester could play piano, the organ, guitar, concertina and the accordion and was part of the group Take 3 with Jan Coetzer en Deon Heyneke. As a musician he's responsible for albums like Herinneringe (2019), Tranquilla, Met 'n Lieb in Jou Hart, Ou Kraalliedjies, Skoffel tot Dagbreek I en II and Fantasia.

CORONAVIRUS. Covid is real. So warns the growing number of hospitalised South African celebrities like TV chef Jenny Morris, Lieb Bester and Emma Sadleir.

by Thinus Ferreira

Covid is real. So warns the growing number of South African celebrities like Leandie du Randt has tested positive for and is battling Covid along with the TV chef Jenny Morris and her husband who are both in hospital, along with social media expert Emma Sadleir, and with the actor Lieb Bester who is back in hospital due to Covid-19 complications.

The actor Lieb Bester (72), known for his roles in the TV soaps Villa Rosa and Binnelanders and who is one of the presenters of Met 'n Huppel in die Stap on kykNET (DStv 144), is back in hospital after he was hospitalised on 24 June for Covid-19.

The Pretoria Rekord reports that family of Lieb Bester said that his kidneys are only functioning 26% because of the Covid-19 coronavirus. 

Lieb Bester's wife, Annatjie, as well as his brother André, both tested positive for Covid-19 as the more contagious Delta-variant is fuelling the number of new cases and deaths as part of a third wave of the global coronavirus in South Africa.

The well-known Cape Town TV chef Jenny Morris of The Food Network (DStv 175) and Expresso on SABC3, known as "The Giggling Gourmet", as well as her husband David, are both in the Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital since they tested positive for Covid-19.

"We have been hospitalised. I'm in Covid ward at Christiaan Barnard hospital with the best doctors. My husband in ICU. He needs oxygen. Thank you for your prayers for our recovery," Jenny wrote on Instagram on 30 June.

The South African social media law expert Emma Sadleir on Twitter shared that she has been hospitalised because of Covid-19.

"I'm in hospital with Covid pneumonia. Feeling indescribably lucky to have got a bed. Thinking of all the people who are feeling so sick and don't have access to the same resources. Also - both my parents have recovered despite mega-comorbidities. Viva vaccines, viva!"

Leandie du Randt, currently the presenter of the 6th season of Slank on kykNET and who also fronted M-Net's (DStv 101) Love Island South Africa earlier this year, is also battling Covid-19 and warns: "Covid is real".

In an Instagram posting, she says "I am now also Covid positive but I am really fine guys, just want to say please be safe and careful in these times. Covid is real. My heart goes out to so many loved ones who have been badly hit by this terrible virus. Grateful for my amazing doctor helping me through this".