Former Muvhango actress Muduna Kapumba debuts on the Skeem Saam tonight (Monday, 7 March) as one of Lelo's new cellmates.
Muduna,
who played Shola on Muvhango until July last year, also plays a journo on Rhythm City so we'll be seeing a very different side of her as she tackles the role of a jail bird.
She plays Tamirira Nyoni - Tami for shorts. She's Zimbabwean - from Bulawayo - and she's landed herself in a cell as a result of a man.
Tami came to South Africa to make a better life for herself and her family but she lost her heart to the wrong man and now she's paying the price behind bars.
She's damaged and broken when she first arrives but as she settles in, she strikes up a friendship with Lelo.
I caught up with Muduna to get the deets on what we can expect:
Tashi: What's been the best thing about bringing Tami to life?
Muduna: She's very vulnerable so she walks into the prison literally crying and shaking and everything so it was somewhat challenging for me because you know Shola and the journalist character that I play on Rhythm City - they're very outspoken and fun and very glamourous.
Now here is this person who is shy - she's a little bit timid. In the beginning you think, "Okay, so what is
her story?" But as the story unfolds, she kind of like blossoms. Then you really get to see who the real Tami is."
Buddy-buddy with the warden behind-the-scenes.
Muduna: In the beginning she doesn't have her own voice so she kind of goes along with whatever Lelo says. She doesn't know how to stand up for herself. It's because she's in this new environment, it's a new world to her and she's scared.
For me, I'm the kind of person that adapts like nobody's business - to any environment. Even growing up, my father was once this very rich businessman and then, in the blink of an eye, everything was taken away from us and we had almost nothing but I learnt to adapt to both worlds.
Through that, I still maintained who I was. I still maintained my voice, I could stand up for myself rather than go along just because, so I would say that's the main difference. Tami can't find it within herself to stand up for herself in difficult situations.
Tashi: And the biggest similarity?
Muduna: She's not afraid of showing her emotions. When we first see her, she's this ball of... I don't know, she's just in tears and scared and even throughout, as the story unfolds, when she's scared you see she's scared, when she's excited, she's excited, when she's emotional, she's emotional and that's me.
I don't know how to just put up this wall or this front - even if I'm feeling emotional, I'll show that I'm emotional and I'll cry. My family tell me that I've got tears by my eyes just waiting to flow down. That's what's similar between us.
Also, she's loyal. She becomes very close to Lelo and you see throughout the journey that she's a loyal friend and I'm a loyal friend. If you're my friend, you're my friend and you can trust and count on me."