Michelle Botes
| Isidingo | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Also known as | 'Isidingo: The Need' |
| Genre | Soap opera |
| Created by | Gray Hofmeyr |
| Directed by |
Raymond Sargeant Johnny Barbuzano Krijay Govender Sthembiso Mathenjwa |
| Theme music composer | Siva Devar |
| Country of origin | South Africa |
| Original language(s) | English (including a mix of various other South African languages) |
| No. of seasons | 17 seasons, 1998–present |
| No. of episodes | 4,341 (as of January 2016) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Pumla Hopa |
| Cinematography | Kobus Van Niekerk |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 33 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | SABC 3 |
| Picture format | PAL |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | 7 July 1998 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Villagers |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Isidingo is a South African soap opera, with dialogue mostly in English. The series premiered on SABC 3 in July 1998 and is broadcast evenings on SABC 3 from Monday to Friday at 19:00. Until 2001 it was titled Isidingo: The Need.
Created by Gray Hofmeyr, the story is loosely based on another popular soap opera created by Hofmeyr, The Villagers, that was broadcast during the apartheid era in South Africa.
The main characters include the Haines family, the Matabanes, Vusi Moletsane the mine manager and the various residents of the boarding house owned by Maggie Webster. Barker Haines, owner of ON TV, is a high-living billionaire who often schemes his way into the lives of various people in and out of the mining town Horizon Deep, notably his daughter Leone. The Matabanes are a close-knit family who comprise a stronghold, of sorts, in the populace of Horizon Deep, with Zebedee as the patriarch. Other central characters are Lolly De Klerk, Frank Xavier, Parsons Matibane, Georgie Zamdela and Calvin Xavier.
Actress Michelle Botes, who had played villainess Cherel De Villiers since Isidingo's 1998 debut, announced her imminent departure from the series in October 2006, a week after being "snubbed" by The South African Television Awards (though Isidingo had taken home the most awards). Botes next portrayed Ingrid in the rival soap Binnelanders, which directly competes with Isidingo on the pay-channel M-Net. She returned to Isidingo from 2010 to 2013.
Soon after winning Best Actress Award at the South African Film and Television Awards for her portrayal of Leone Haines, 32-year-old actress Ashley Callie died following a car accident in February 2005. The role was not recast, and the character was killed off-screen.
Six months after Callie's death, the series killed off original character Letti Matabane (played by actress Lesego Motsepe) in a similar car accident, prompting a "nationwide outpouring of grief".
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Wikipedia