Carte Blanche turns 30: Here's what Sunday's special broadcast on M-Net will be about as anchor Derek Watts says it's impossible task 'to encapsulate 30 years of Carte Blanche'.

The weekly investigative magazine show Carte Blanche will celebrate a milestone anniversary - it's 30th birthday - this Sunday evening at 19:00 on M-Net (DStv 101), with original anchor Derek Watts saying it's impossible to encapsulate what Carte Blanche has meant and accomplished over the past three decades and continues to do.

The Combined Artistic Productions produced show that has given M-Net and DStv subscribers "the right to see it all" since 1988, will reach episode number 1 572 this Sunday evening for the 90-minute broadcast that will see the original former co-anchor Ruda Landman return for a special appearance.

Carte Blanche "has provided a voice to all South Africans; it has been a trustworthy authority on the state of affairs and a clear reflection of the world we live in; it has generated fiery debates and conversation at the watercooler; it has become a respected and loved institution that has stood the test of time," says M-Net about the show's landmark accomplishment.

"Now the longest-running current affairs show on South African television is celebrating 30 years of daring story-telling," says M-Net, with Carte Blanche that has remained the most-watched and highest-rated show on the channel over the years.

In an online tribute letter to the show that he's been a part of right from the beginning when it started out in a rented studio, Derek Watts writes that "to encapsulate 30 years of Carte Blanche in a few sentences would be an impossible task. And hardly do justice to the lives that have been touched or the emotions of a journey that has included thousands of stories".

"The question that does arise is how this program has survived - no thrived - in the same time spot and on the same channel for three decades."

He says that the team at Carte Blanche "really became hardcore journalists when George Mazarakis left his lecturing post at Rhodes University and took over the helm more than 20 years ago. George expected a lot from the team – the researchers, producers, camera crews and presenters."

"He urged us to push the limits but never sat back himself. Not quite a master of delegation, I don't think there is a story over that period that he didn't view with the lawyers personally beforehand. And we did keep them busy!"

Derek Watts also thanks M-Net, saying it's been "a broadcaster which is resilient enough to let us tackle just about any situation or personality and a sprinkle of  good fortune to the mix", as well as viewers "who have embraced the show as their private property, who interact with us and are quick to praise and just as quick to criticize when they feel we have dropped the ball."

"We have given you the right to see it all. And we really do believe that truth brings change". 

New executive producer
Produced by Combined Artistic Productions and spearheaded by legendary executive producers like the late Bill Faure (in the photo above), Linda Vermaas, Pieter Cilliers and George Mazarakis, the show continues to accumulate journalistic accolades - the tally now reaching 230 international and local awards.

Wynand Grobler recently took over from George Mazarakis as Carte Blanche's new executive producer.

George Mazarakis remains one of the director of Combined Artists but recently resigned as executive producer of the show after deciding to relocate to Greece to be closer to his family.

He handed over the reins to Wynand Grobler who has been working at his side for the past four years and who has been with Carte Blanche for 13 years.

"George's contribution to Carte Blanche is beyond comparision," M-Net tells TVwithThinus.

"Not only did he passionately spearhead the multiple award-winning show for 25 years and shaped it into the institution it is today, but he also initiated the Carte Blanche Making a Difference Campaign and was instrumental in raising millions of rands to upgrade hospitals around the country".

Besides Derek Watts and Ruda Landman, Carte Blanche over the past three decades has had many stand-out presenters and journalists who proved their mettle in doing everything from hard-hitting doorstop interviews to relentless probing of issues ordinary South Africans wanted answers to - from the late Manu Padayachee to Michelle Alexander, Les Aupiais, and Bongani Bingwa, Devi Sankaree Govender, John Webb, Tim Modise, Chantal Rutter Dros and Annika Larsen.

The current presenting team consists out of Derek Watts, Devi Sankaree Govender known for her fearless reporting, John Webb from the United Kingdom, Macfarlane Moleli who joined last last year, and Claire Mawisa.

Sunday's special line-up
Sunday's milestone 90-minute broadcast will look back on many of the highlights and memorable moments that created appointment viewing on Sunday nights on M-Net over the past 30 years.

Viewers will relive Carte Blanche's coverage of epic moments in history as it exposed wrongdoing of all kinds, interviewed global icons, kept viewers informed about the latest technology, and showcased remarkable achievements of South Africans from all walks of life

DStv subscribers can tune in for these inserts:

Three Decades of History

In August 1988, the first episode of Carte Blanche was broadcast. South Africa was a very different country at the time. PW Botha was state president, Nelson Mandela was behind bars, townships were aflame, and a repressive state of emergency was being fiercely opposed.  Since then, unimaginable changes have taken place in our history and Carte Blanche has been there to cover many of these human triumphs and tragedies.

Investigations and Scams

Investigative reportage has been the cornerstone of Carte Blanche for 30 years, busting corruption, cruelty and trickery, from car dealers to shady politicians, animal abusers to scamsters of every type. It still inspires countless people to write to us every day. We recall the highlights in our investigative journey and reflect on the sometimes entertaining and always enlightening responses of those in the cross-hairs.

The Bizarre, the Adventurous and the Extraordinary 

While it may be known for its investigative prowess, Carte Blanche has over the years explored bizarre and extraordinary lifestyles and adventures.  From adult “babies” in nappies, to the first South African Everest expedition – we’ve captured these moments and met courageous men and women who have pushed the boundaries of modern-day adventure.

Sport, Celebrities and Golden Moments

Carte Blanche’s very presence made – and recorded – magic. Devi’s iconic confrontation of Eskom’s Matshela Koko. Derek’s meeting with Mark Shuttleworth before he ventured into space. Macfarlane’s scowl as he descended into Johannesburg’s sewers with zama zama miners looking for treasure, and the wonder on Claire’s face as she tested some of the first virtual reality phone devices. Moments like these have made you stay with us and have propelled us into the future.

Ruda Landman back on Carte Blanche this Sunday on M-Net for the show's special 30th anniversary broadcast.

Ruda Landman will be back on Carte Blanche on M-Net (DStv 101) this Sunday evening at 19:00 for the weekly investigative show's landmark 30th anniversary that will take the form of a special 90-minute look-back episode.

Ruda Landman will return for a special appearance next to her former co-anchor Derek Watts with whom she shared the Carte Blanche stage for 19 years at the Combined Artistic Productions show until she left 11 years ago.

Together Ruda Landman and Derek Watts left an indelible imprint on South Africa's TV landscape with the iconic Sunday night show that it still going strong after three decades and Sunday's episode that will reflect on how "truth does brings change".

Sunday's special episode of the programme with its signature theme song, slogan of "the right to see it all" and currently with presenters Derek Watts, Devi Sankaree Govender, Claire Mawisa, John Webb and Macfarlane Moleli, will include a look back at Carte Blanche's memorable moments, highlights and groundbreaking investigations over the past 30 years.

The highly-successful Sunday night 19:00 TV staple on M-Net since its very start in 1988 with jaw-dropping stories over the years has seen South Africa transition through seismic political, cultural and socio-economic changes with a weekly mix of investigative and consumer journalism stories, profile interviews and agenda-setting exposes based on a similar format as America's 60 Minutes.

"Ruda Landman will be back for a guest appearance," Derek Watts told OFM in a radio interview. "Ruda was a great part of the show and she will be back and it will be the whole team there, all presenting segments."

"It's quite a thing to look back on 30 years and how many lives have changed, how many laws have changed. People have been affected. And you can't help feeling a bit nostalgic going back 30 years but it's been quite a trip for everybody on the team," said Derek Watts.

Devi Sankaree Govender who has been with Carte Blanche for the past 16 years, told Jacaranda FM in an interview that the special 30th anniversary episode will look back at some of the best stories over the years, "stories that have affected the country, stories that brought about change".

"We're looking at the investigative stories, the catching crooks stories, the happy stories, the adventure stories - marking 30 years, and 30 years of the fact that truth does bring change."

In an interview with 702 Devi Sankaree Govender said "Carte Blanche has been the greatest privilege of my life because I've had access to people and situations that ordinarily I wouldn't have access to".

"A big part of transformation for me, is transparency. And the only way you're going to get that, is if you're not afraid to ask the really tough questions. People don't like to be put on the spot," said Devi Sankaree Govender.

"When you're sitting across from somebody during an interview, it's just about you and that person. It's not about clever, fancy questions with big words. It's about keeping it real, asking questions that matter, but more importantly, finding some kind of direction."

"I'm a sucker for 'I'm sorry'. Very few of the people I interview actually say 'I'm sorry'. If you're sorry, then let's see how we are going to fix this together," she said.

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."

BREAKING. Ruda Landman makes a surprise guest appearance with Derek Watts on M-Net's Carte Blanche - but by video link.

Saying her life is "much quieter now", Ruda Landman made a surprise guest appearance Sunday night on M-Net's Carte Blanche - the show she suddenly left 6 years ago in June 2007 as co-anchor - for the special 25th birthday broadcast of the long running South African investigative and current affairs magazine show.

"Often people simply don't know that I've left," said Ruda Landman. "Of course my life is much more peaceful. Much calmer," said Ruda Landman by video link.

"As you know, there never really was an average day. You never knew. And that was the most amazing thing," she said. "For me, the changes that happened and the changes in the country and the change it brought about in me, myself, were just so amazing."

"Keep doing what you're doing. You're doing a brilliant job. Good Luck," said Ruda Landman.

EXCLUSIVE. Colin Moss, Doreen Morris, Ruda Landman all returning and back on M-Net for the pay TV channel's 25th birthday in October.

You're reading it here first.

I can break the news that Colin Moss and South African television stars like Doreen Morris and even Ruda Landman are all returning to M-Net - according to sources they'll be back on the pay TV channel for a nostalgic M-Net celebration month.

I can reveal that instantly recognizable faces like Colin Moss and a major number of former M-Net faces are all part of a big and simply stellar group of luminous former M-Net on-air stars who've been invited - and apparently agreed to return - to M-Net to be seen again. The pay TV channel has begun to film (under great secrecy) an on-air promo (or is it promos?) with former and current M-Net on-screen personalities, sources say, to celebrate M-Net's 25th birthday during the month of October.

TV with Thinus understands that the M-Net stars - all of them megawatt personalities from the past two and a half decades since M-Net started, up to the current day - have been roped in for a very special promo or promos that will be broadcast in October. All of them are very strongly associated with the M-Net brand during periods of the past 25 years. They've all become household names as continuity presenters, show presenters and local TV stars, and in most cases have remained famous and loved even though in some cases its been years since they've actually appeared on television.

The first promo work took place a week and a half ago amidst great secrecy and was preceded by major planning and huge logistical pre-production work to pull this big project off. Unclear at this stage is whether there is one big music promo, different sets of 30 second promos or different versions since, as I understand it from sources, the shoot or filming for the project will continue in August. The new filming could mean an extension of what was already done and filmed towards the end of July, or new separate promo material.

''They went and asked instantly recognizable famous faces that South African viewers love and adore,'' says a source. ''Amazing people - everybody of the past 25 years so closely linked with M-Net. And its as amazing and wonderful that they agreed to return. It's very hush-hush but just think of a big name from the past of M-Net and chances are you'll see that face in October again on M-Net when the pay channel goes very big with its 25th birthday,'' whispers an insider.

''It's going to be lovely,'' says another source. I asked M-Net days ago about the promo(s), if the channel could confirm it and had specific questions. On Monday evening M-Net declined to comment on this for now.

On 30 December of 2010 I wondered RIGHT HERE how M-Net will be remembering - and what the channel will do - for its 25th birthday in October.

Longtime M-Net subscribers and viewers will remember the brilliant M-Net on-air promos from previous years which saw groups of M-Net faces assembled with several songs from Queen over the years. There were for instance Don't Stop Me Now (we wont stop the magic at all).

One even took place on the roof of M-Net Randburg headquarters (above) with M-Net staff waving and dancing. Later there were the brilliant 9 Turning Tiles and When the Magic Touches You.

BREAKING. Derek Watts on Carte Blanche's 22nd anniversary: ''I miss Ruda Landman very much.''

''I miss Ruda Landman very much,'' Derek Watts tells me as South Africa's longest running and multiple award winning weekly investigative magazine show, Carte Blanche (Sundays at 19:00 on M-Net) gets ready to celebrate its 22nd anniversary this Sunday evening.

In an interview - the complete one which TV with Thinus readers will be able to read in full on Sunday right here - I asked Derek Watts if he's missing his longtime Carte Blanche co-host. Ruda Landman, who did the show since the beginning for 19 years together with Derek Watts, decided to leave Carte Blanche three years ago.

''She was just such a wonderful person to present Carte Blanche with for 19 years and we have a very close bond,'' Derek Watts tells me. ''I still have lunch with her and she was such a wonderful part of Carte Blanche for so many years. Of course she helped launch it and she has a wonderful integrity and a wonderful depth, and a sense of humour and empathy. Ruda is just wonderful.''

''Of course we've got a lot of new presenters now,'' says Derek Watts. ''Devi Sankaree Govender has stepped into the breach and she's a little tiger and she's really helped to promote Carte Blanche to what we do best. Bongani Bingwa is also just such a fantastic reporter and person. He also has such depth and character - with the ability to ask very decisive questions. Chantal Rutter is absolutely stunning. What a wonderful presenter she is. And Annika Larsen of course is stunning. She's such a great presenter and with one of the best voices of all of us. I think she's got a lovely voice. So we've got a very strong cast of presenters which has helped me get over the loss of Ruda but ja, I do miss Ruda to answer your question.''

On the Carte Blanche Facebook page viewers can now choose which stories they like the most and those will be broadcast this Sunday night as they get the chance to ''direct'' and shape the 22nd anniversary Carte Blanche broadcast.

ALSO READ: M-Net's Carte Blanche promises a ''mystery gift'' for Sunday night's 22nd anniversary show and here's the inserts viewers get to choose from.

MUST READ! Ruda Landman in Woman&Home on life after Carte Blanche.

Photo: Nick Boulton, courtesy of Woman&Home

The brand-new March issue of Woman&Home that just hit the shelves has TV woman Ruda Landman on the cover - in a fantastic photo shoot. This is how the wonderful Ruda Landman looks on the cover, and I can tell you there's as beautiful photos with the feature on the inside.
 
In the best interview I’ve read since Ruda Landman left M-Net’s Carte Blanche, she talks with Woman&Home’s Eldaleen Hugo about what she’s learned after decades in television, the new chapter in her life and the price and opportunities that Carte Blanche brought to her life. You have to read it, it's a very good feature.
 
One more fantastic photo courtesy of Woman&Home if you click on READ MORE below.