Uzalo of SABC1 has finally found a new actress to take Omuhle Gela’s place. Gela is said to be being replaced by actress Fanele Ntuli, who plays Dr. Zondo on Durban Gen. She played Nomaswazi on the show, but she left the show after arguing with the show’s creators. It was alleged that she was dissatisfied because she had to relocate from Johannesburg to KwaZulu-Natal for the show, only to be offered a contract with terms that were different from those that she and the production company had initially agreed upon. In May of this year, Gela had joined the cast.
DESPERATE FOR A REPLACEMENT
According to a source close to the show, producers were so desperate for a replacement that they settled on Ntuli. Getting an actress from Johannesburg would have been costly, so they settled on Ntuli. Zimoja has learned that the production appears to have been disrupted by Omuhle’s departure from the show. One source claims that Ntuli will have to reshoot all of Omuhle’s scenes because they were busy with season 9 when Omuhle decided to walk off set. “Producers were under immense stress because they had just finished shooting Season 8, which ended in September, and Omuhle had already shot the majority of scenes for season 9,” the source continues. Keep in mind that Omuhle had already begun filming Season 9, so they needed to shoot again with the new person. The source states, “They couldn’t have two different characters as one person because that would be confusing.”
Disagreements
According to a different source, as a result of their disagreements with Gela, producers had been following Ntuli for some time. The source claims that she was their first choice, and fortunately for them, she agreed to join Uzalo. Zimoja first revealed Gela’s story when she left the set due to disagreements with the authorities. In the meantime, there is a rumor that Gela was informed that the show’s producers were going to recast her character because they were dissatisfied with her performance.
According to Nomfundo Zondi, the publicist for Uzalo, Fanele is one of the shortlisted actresses.
She stated, “let me confirm with the SABC will revert back.”
Source: https://www.zimoja.co.za/articles/new-kid-on-the-uzalo-block