Ruda Landman returns in a revealing new TV series, VeranderDinge, on kykNET from Sunday at 18:00.

Iconic TV journalist Ruda Landman is back on pay-TV from this Sunday evening doing revealing and truly must-see interviews – not on M-Net's Carte Blanche but on kykNET (DStv 144) in a fascinating new series, VeranderDinge at 18:00.

Widely regarded as South Africa's most respected TV journalist, the veteran Ruda Landman got access to a formidable group of well-known South African personalities in the new series, with sit-down interviews in which they all open up and talk for the first time on television about life-altering moments and decision which changed their lives.

In VeranderDinge [Change Things] Ruda Landman, trusted by viewers and known for her empathic interviewing skills, achieves something remarkable: getting often-guarded A-listers to open up about pivotal life-changing events, moments and decisions – exactly the kind of personal, and often painful, things they don’t want to talk about and haven't been willing to share.

Famous names from Amy Kleynhans-Curd, Nianell, Pieter-Dirk Uys, Shaleen Surtie-Richards, to Graeme Smith, Helen Zille, Liesl Laurie and several others sit down and share intimate details about life-changing events in their lives in this series.

From dealing with divorce, poverty, anorexia, drug abuse to the pain of losing a parent and fame, the well-known South Africans share the changes in their lives and how it not only shaped and changed them, but also altered their perspective on life.

Kim Cloete also interviews personalities ranging from Jackie Burger to Marc Lottering as well as interviewing ordinary South Africans who are going through, and who are making profound changes.

The aim of VeranderDinge is to help inspire viewers to think differently about things like careers, finances, personal development, relationships, their families, health and appearances.

'You have to really listen'

"It is 8 years since I've left Carte Blanche. And you know, journalism takes you out of your box. We are born and grow up in boxes," says Ruda Landman.

"You live with, and your parents' friends are, and your friends at school are, like yourself. They look like you, they speak the same language, they sing the same songs, they eat the same food on Sunday, they shout for the same team. And you are comfortable with them because they are like you. So you stay with them."

"And you can easily spend you whole life in a box with people who are like you. But journalism makes you go out and sit with other people who are different. And you have to really listen, otherwise you don't really get the story," says Ruda Landman.

"In the process, all the little boxes in your own head are upended. It definitely happened in my life. When I left Carte Blanche that is really the only thing that I missed: the exposure to other people's worlds and realities and the way they see life and the way they experience it."

Great television

"The other thing that journalism gives you is a licence to ask questions. Some of the questions I get to ask in VeranderDinge are not questions you can just ask suddenly over the table. But you get a kind of platform; people allow you to."

"And the fantastic thing about VeranderDinge is that people come onboard having agreed to talk about the change moments in their lives, which are part radical. It takes the conversation to another level," says Ruda Landman.

"Shaleen Surtie-Richards, with her mom passing away – there's the moment where you ask the question and then you’re listening, your attention, your being there, creates a moment where she changes. And the fact that she trusted me enough to cry and not say 'cut' but let it go, makes it special."

"Shaleen is very camera concious, she knew exactly what was happening, and she's willing to go there. And it's an enormous compliment," says Ruda Landman. "In the process we get great television. I'm so enjoying it, and I'm enjoying the renewed exposure to the wider world."

Changes on kykNET

"As a channel, kykNET is also going through a lot of changes," says commissioning editor, Alicia Geldenhuys.

"We're saying goodbye to a soap that's been on for more than 10 years. We're saying hello to a new soap. We're revamping a channel – one of our kykNET channels is getting a little make-over, and its so fitting that this show VeranderDinge is coming in to this."

"We're changing together and we're very happy to have Ruda back on television and it's going to be magic."

"It's intimidating working with Ruda Landman … I can't lie to you," said Alan Ford, executive producer and director of VeranderDinge. 

"You always think to yourself – and I'm not being funny – but when you sit with Ruda you think 'Did you pay your taxes?', 'Did you have an affair?'. She's a brilliant and genius TV presenter."

Loitering in Jozi with Marc Lottering starting on SABC3 on 14 November at 20:00 as a comedian living it up in the Donatello Towers.

You're reading it here first.

That untitled, new Marc Lottering local TV sitcom vehicle finally has a name with Loitering in Jozi which will start on Thursday 14 November at 20:00 on SABC3.

Marc Lottering stars as (who else?) Marc Lottering, Antony Coleman is Alfie, Tessa Jubber is Lauren, Mamello Mum-Z Mokoena is Kabelo, and Mervelline Ferris is the concierge. The big question is, will it be funny or dreadfully dull as the perpetual curse of South African amateur sitcoms?

Marc Lottering plays the lead in Loitering in Jozi, set in the world of Sandton's elite. He moves from Cape Town to Johannesburg to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, only to find himself caught up in a case of mistaken identity.

This leaves Marc Lottering penniless (doesn't the local entertainment biz do that anyway?) and homeless. Fortunately a university roommate (the obsessive compulsive fully grown trust fund baby Alfie) has a spare room and so the two decided to share a flat.

The Donatello Towers (read: Sandton Towers) is no ordinary building. South Africa's rich elite lives here side by side with those who serve them aka South African Downton Abbey style. Loitering in Jozi plays on this fish-out-of-water contrast somewhat like Diff'rent Strokes, with all that Marc wants to do is to become a famous comedian.

No preview episode or screeners for Loitering in Jozi have been made available to South Africa's TV critics.

Marc Lottering's new local South African sitcom, with himself playing a character called Marc, set to start on SABC3 in December.

He struggled to read and follow the teleprompter and was an embarrassment as co-host of the latest season of Strictly Come Dancing on SABC3 but Marc Lottering's new local South African sitcom starring himself as a character called Marc, will debut on SABC3 in December.

The as yet untitled sitcom revolves around Marc Lottering's character Marc moving from Cape Town to Johannesburg, and moving into a luxury high-rise where he and the character's wife are fish out of water.

A stilted Marc Lottering tells SABC3 viewers about 'Strictly Come Back Dancing'; seems ill-prepared as a presenter for the dance reality show.

A stilted Marc Lottering, co-host on SABC3's dance reality show Strictly Come Dancing comes across as extremely ill-prepared and even got the show's name wrong on Wednesday night in the second episode, calling it "Strictly Come Back Dancing" before apologising.

Marc Lottering who keeps reading with his head down a lot from his cue cards, and even then struggles to read fluently and correctly, comes across as unprepared, unprofessional, anxious, and at times out of his depth on the dance floor format show where graceful movement and flow is supposed to be the hallmark of the programme.

Strictly Come Dancing co-presenter Pabi Moloi is left time and again as the "I will laugh it away for both of us" foil as Marc Lottering has trouble keeping eye contact with the camera and the viewer, and constantly reads almost everything off his cue cards - and even then not doing a good job of it.

Marc Lottering even called the current 6th season of Strictly Come Dancing "Strictly Come Back Dancing" on Wednesday night while he was reading it all (along with big and inappropriate hand gestures) in his biggest gaffe of Wednesday's live show.

"But before all of that ladies and gentlemen," read Marc Lottering, "please put your hands together and welcome to the Strictly Come Back Dancing"... when Pabi Moloi quickly and appropriately jumped in and corrected him.

"I'm so excited!" squealed Marc Lottering. "Let me try that again."

TV presenters get the gig over so-called normal people because they supposedly have on-air rapport and exude a warm personal connection with viewers.

They're able to juggle multiple voices in their ear pieces, put in the hard work and homework preparing beforehand late at night, and because they are able to carry on and make technical snafu's behind-the-scenes almost invisible by continuing a conversation as if nothing has gone wrong.

Marc Lottering on Wednesday night on Strictly Come Dancing on SABC3 was cringeworthy, his presentation style inept, and will seriously need to put more work hours and preparation time into his latest presentation gig.

If you present a show, present it and don't read it. Don't ham up with humour to such a large degree where it ends up coming across as a panacea for not having prepared or not knowing the structure and segments and what and who will be happening next, off by heart.

Less wildly erratic and large arm and hand movements will keep the attention where it belong: on the contestants and the dancing. This isn't a one-man stand-up comedy routine but an ensemble reality dance show.

Everybody on television - especially live television - is allowed a mistake or two. But too many ongoing inappropriate mistakes on-air after a while end up becoming a tell-tale sign of unpreparedness.

As a dance reality show, viewers tune in to Strictly Come Dancing to watch the celebrity contestants maybe miss a step or a turn. The presenters steering this two hour tele-extravaganza week after week, however should never miss a beat when it comes to eloquence, poise and precision.

And at the moment it feels as if Marc Lottering is missing too many of those have-to-get-it-right steps.