Viewers furious at kykNET's fake Oulap se Rooi; viewer anger flooding in after the Builders Warehouse show with Alex and Charlie Kotze deceived viewers.

images: screengrabs from Oulap se Rooi opening title

Viewers are absolute furious over kykNET's fake Oulap se Rooi show in which presenter twins Charlie and Alex Kotze was supposed to help viewers with their room improvements but secretly redid a lot of rooms at the executive producer Francois van Wyk's own house, pretending that it's those of viewers with the help of "actors".

kykNET (DStv 144), floored by the "bombshell" revelations, immediately yanked the show produced by Seven20 Entertainment from the air on Monday and started an "urgent investigation" while show sponsor Builders Warehouse said the company is "very disappointed" with the deception.

M-Net's Afrikaans language TV channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform pulled the advertiser-funded show from its schedule which this week would have shown a lovely garden make-over. It would have been the garden of Francois van Wyk's house in Emmarentia, Johannesburg.

Meanwhile there's been no public apology, sorry, or admission of wrongdoing from the co-executive producers Francois van Wyk and the Top Billing presenter Ursula Chikane.

They did however issue a statement saying that "not everything on television is 100% real" and explaining why the majority of episodes for the now infamous Oulap se Rooi were actually redone rooms at Francois van Wyk's own house.

In the statement Seven20 Entertainment says the company "made the decision to use stand-in actors for the make-over of some rooms" because of "time constraints and quality."

The producers say that although actors were used in some of the episodes "the actors' reactions to the made-over rooms were genuine".

The producers say that they either had to film some episodes at the house of Francois van Wyk due to time and logistical constraints or have no show at all for kykNET.

The Vredendal twin presenters, known as the K2 Twins have since gone quiet. They've not said a word publicly about their involvement with Oulap se Rooi since the scandalous news became known on Sunday. 

It was Alex and Charlie Kotze first TV presenting work - now mired in scandal - with their credibility dented and their brand reputation suffering huge damage. 

Viewer fury is flooding in with a torrent of criticism leveled against Oulap se Rooi, kykNET, and the arrogant producers with reams of rolling comments on social media like the channel's Facebook page.

The K2 twin presenters have also become the target of viewers' anger and criticism for the involvement with the show.

Viewer Mary Bailey-Barsby wants to know why kykNET viewers were duped, and Daphne Bekker said she can't believe that kykNET stooped so low.

"Knew something was very fake about the show! Especially the clients' reactions when they saw rooms. They could have used better actors," said Susan Bruwer du Plessis.

"I think people will be speechless if they know how many of their popular shows are FAKE," wrote Ronel Wait-Hill.

"Was amateurly done and totally unconvincing. Don't underestimate viewers, it's insulting," responded Erica Strydom.

"The two brothers are anyway the worst presenters I've ever seen," wrote Deon Knoetze. "I always wonder why some people under-estimate the public's intelligence".

"Thank goodness it's off TV," wrote Percy Stevens."Those two guys are just there for the looks and don't sound sharp when they talk. Paint walls with Cadushi clothes on. Surely the worst show."

"I'm in the floor business and they created a misperception under people about how easy it is," wrote Andre Claassen.

"Really terrible that we as viewers were asked to write in and then there wasn't a chance to go through. What a fraud!" said Lindie de Villiers.

"May I be one of many supporting the twins," wrote George Pietersen. "They're caught up in the situation, it's not their fault, they just did their job. You must understand they're farmers and NOT TV presenters but did the best of their presenting skills."

"I've been saying for week's something is off. How do you paint a wall with a 2 inch brush and don't get any paint on yourself? The show was anyway a rip-off of the American version on DStv," wrote Jenny Jordaan.

"Doesn't say much about kykNET's quality control over shows," remarked Marius Carstens.

"The two brothers were as dishonest because they knew it is the same house," wrote Lokkie Coetzer.

"Wasn't a good show. Everything and everyone was fake," said Marli Oosthuizen.

"Does nobody feel any shame or does everybody these days accept that wrong things are right?" asked Amanda Husselman.

"This is absolutely tragic if it's true," wrote Johann Kotzé. "kykNET did the right thing to suspend the show until the investigation is completed."

FAKE-AWAY: kykNET dumps fake-over show Oulap se Rooi from its schedule with presenters Alex and Charlie Kotze; investigation done with 'utmost urgency'.

kykNET has dumped the fake-over show Oulap se Rooi with the K2 twin presenters Alex and Charlie Kotze and immediately removed the sham show from its schedule after the bombshell revelations that instead of improving viewers' homes the show redid rooms in the executive producer's home using "actors" as stand-ins, pretending it's rooms in their homes.

kykNET (DStv 144) says its apologising to viewers for Oulap se Rooi, has immediately removed the show from its schedule and is committed to producing quality Afrikaans TV content "with integrity".

Neither kykNET nor sponsor Builders Warehouse was aware that the show, produced by Seven20 Entertainment, was redoing homes at executive producer Francois van Wyk's own house in Emmarentia, Johannesburg and using friends to pretend that it's rooms in their homes.

Seven20 Entertainment says in a statement "not everything on television is 100% real" and that Seven20 Entertainment "made the decision to use stand-in actors for the makeover of some rooms" because of "time constraints and quality."

The producers say that although actors were used, "the actors' reactions to the made-over rooms were genuine".

In crisis mode, executives at M-Net's Afrikaans language channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform scrambled to yank Oulap se Rooi from its schedule after what insiders called "bombshell" revelations and told the producers their show is getting dumped pending an investigation.

"The case is seen in a very serious light," kykNET told TV with Thinus on Monday evening.

"A decision was taken to no longer broadcast Oulap se Rooi until there's clarity. The investigation is handled as a matter of utmost urgency by kykNET's auditors," says the channel, saying that it's committed to quality Afrikaans content with integrity.

Builders Warehouse said it's "very disappointed" with the shocking and damaging revelations. "We thought the concept was a nice one where the public got involved and their homes get renovated. But when we found out that actually it was the producer's house, we are very disappointed."

So far there's been no statement from the presenter twins who've remained silent over the controversy now swirling around their first TV presenting gig in the show that duped viewers by filming the majority of episodes at the executive producer's own house.

"We simply decided to shoot the episodes in one space because it was logistically easier - we were running behind schedule and we wanted to save production costs and time," says Francois van Wyk, executive producer in a statement, saying the show ran out of time to redo just rooms in actual viewers' homes.

"We could either stage some of the episodes, or end up with no content at all. We decided that the former was the better option".

Co-producer and well-known Top Billing presenter Ursula Chikane says Oulap se Rooi has "always been committed to excellence and accountability".

FAUX PAS: kykNET's fake-over Oulap se Rooi: 'Not everything on television is 100% real'; show admits stand-in actors were used for makeovers at producer's own house.

"Not everything on television is 100% real," says the producers, Seven20 Entertainment, after shocking and damaging revelations that kykNET's Oulap se Rooi - supposed to do make-overs of viewers' rooms - is a TV fake.

The home make-over show Oulap se Rooi with the presenter twins Charlie and Alex Kotze was supposed to improve rooms of viewers.

Instead it was the house of the executive producer Francois van Wyk that got upgrades and make-overs without viewers being told and viewers deliberately kept in the dark with stand-in actors creating the perception that it is rooms in their own and different homes.

kykNET and viewers are shocked and Oulap se Rooi sponsor, Builders Warehouse told TV with Thinus earlier on Monday that the company is "very disappointed".

"We're very disappointed for what has transpired because it was obviously not what was supposed to happen," said Zandile Manana, Builders Warehouse marketing manager.

"We decided to sponsor the programme based on the fact that we are a home improvement and DIY player. We want to inspire, educate and get our customers started on DIY. So we thought the concept was a nice one where the public got involved and their homes get renovated."

"But when we found out that actually it was the producer's house, we are very disappointed."

"We're having a conversation with the producers. We're taking this further to see how we can remedy this situation. But from our side we're very disappointed," says Zandile Manana.

Seven20 Entertainment, in a statement on Monday afternoon admits that stand-in actors were used for several rooms in Francois van Wyk's property in Emmarentia, Johannesburg, making as if it's the rooms in their homes.

The company says these stand-in actors' reactions to the rooms however are genuine.

Oulap se Rooi was Charlie and Alex Kotze first job as TV presenters, now mired in scandal.

"Seven 20 made the decision to use stand-in actors for the makeover of some rooms," admits the company. "Again, this was a decision that we made because of time constraints and quality."

"We needed to create a positive reaction, and we wanted the audience to relate with the characters on the screen. What people need to understand is that it is still a television show - not everything on television is 100% real," says Seven20 Entertainment.

Ironically kykNET and the show asked viewers to write in and tell them of rooms in their own homes that needed a makeover and that Oulap se Rooi with Charlie and Alex Kotze would come and do a makeover.

"We could either stage some of the episodes, or end up with no content at all. We decided that the former was the better option," says Francois van Wyk in the statement, saying he "paid for each and every made-over room in his house out of his own pocket".

"We simply decided to shoot the episodes in one space because it was logistically easier - we were running behind schedule and we wanted to save production costs and time".

Seven20 Entertainment says "we have kept all original invoices and receipts and we will gladly produce them to our clients and the channel".

The statement doesn't explain why viewers were not told beforehand, and why a show on M-Net's Afrikaans language channel on MultiChoice's DStv, purportedly created and marketed to help viewers, ended up not doing that in each of the episodes.

Seven20 Entertainment says "sometimes we add scenes for dramatic effect or we edit some out - the show needs to be entertaining and that is always top of mind. However; the actors' reactions to the made-over rooms were genuine - they had not seen the rooms beforehand".

"We are saddened by the fact that sensationalism has taken precedence over facts and that media platforms started running with the story that was taken completely out of context," says co-producer and Top Billing presenter Ursula Chikane.

"We have always been committed to excellence and accountability," says Ursula Chikane.

"We put out a great product with our charming hosts Alex and Charlie Kotze and we delivered content on-time for broadcast. For a labour of love to be branded in an inaccurate light, causes us pain on a deeply personal level," says Ursula Chikane.