Larry King meets Oprah, via Anele Mdoda on SABC3’s new chat show, as part of its 80% local drive.
|||After a long wait, radio personality Anele Mdoda has her own talk show. Titled Real Talk, you just know things are going to get serious. But what kind of show will it be – comedy in the vein of Trevor Noah or something akin to Felicia Mabuza-Suttle?
“I do it all. I do the comedian and the serious topics like time management and why people are in debt. I try to make it as light-hearted as I can, but we also have to talk about things that affect us in serious ways. The show is an hour long and that’s great because in other shows that I have interviewed people, it has been for a lot less. We have to go for ad breaks and that’s why I’ve been holding up on doing this show – I wanted an opportunity that gave me enough time to actually conduct the interviews the way I want to,” explained Mdoda.
Real Talk With @Anele premieres at 16:00 today on @SABC3 here is what to expect #RealTalkOn3 pic.twitter.com/Li37QwrjZx
— Real Talk With Anele (@RealTalkOn3) July 21, 2016
Looking back to when the bug first bit, Mdoda told us that she has always wanted to be on TV doing this sort thing.
“I grew up with great talk show hosts like Larry King and Oprah and wanted to be an amalgamation of all of them. On Real Talk, I’m allowed to do that and I really appreciate that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a tough job, but I enjoy the challenge. I thought motherhood would really push me, but this is really hard. I haven’t cried from being a mom, but I have cried from having to deal with Real Talk.”
She has hosted TV shows like SA’s Got Talent and Tongue in Cheek, for which her radio skills came in very handy.
“When I did Tongue in Cheek, I already had intentions of doing my own show. I was in talks with the likes of Rapid Blue, Urban Brew and M-Net. Tongue in Cheek was produced by Cheeky Media and my relationship with them was getting stronger. I believe that every other TV gig I did led me here and I associated myself with as many TV professionals as possible just so I could learn. Cheeky Media and I spoke about the talk show and it was only approved three weeks ago,” she said.
Yehaaaa RT @simphiwedana: Great interview with @Anele on her new talk show. It's bound to be a firm fave 💜👑💜 pic.twitter.com/x2JS3CmzEq
— Anele Mdoda (@Anele) July 21, 2016
Having the experience from various TV shows paved the way and prepared her for Real Talk.
“Thanks to the fact I have been anticipating and preparing for this show for a long time, I am ready to do this. It is also a good thing that I am already on radio as I am more or less in the know of what is needed for the show. The only drawback is that I will be talking for, like, nine hours a day. It is not glamourous like I thought it would be. I am a sucker for detail and depth and that doesn’t come without hard work,” said Mdoda.
Mdoda is fully involved in every aspect of production because she feels that should anything go wrong, then it is going to fall on her shoulders.
“We have had a few shows already. We have had some dry runs just to see how great it will go. We have some authors coming to the show and I have to read their books before I see them. It’s not a schlep because that’s where my questions come from,” she said.
Given that Real Talk premieres today on SABC3 at 4pm, people will probably draw parallels with Noeleen Maholwana-Sangqu’s 3Talk.
“I think that’s people’s point of departure, so that’s fine. Perhaps it is because we are both women, but Noeleen has had me on her show several times and people picked up our differences.
“I am worried about the time slot because I’d like for people to be home. I know some people will be home at 4pm, but I wish it could have been much later,” said Mdoda.
Real Talk airs today at 4pm on SABC3.