This article was first published on TVSA in June 2016 when Roots aired on History on DStv. We're republishing it today (24 October 2017) because e.tv's airing a run of it this November.
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Beautiful, beautiful,
beautiful.
This is the only way to describe Nokuthula Ledwaba's performance on the remake of the 1970s miniseries
Roots. It premieres on e.tv on Monday, 6 November 2017 at 20h30 and Nokuthula is one of the first characters to be seen.
She plays Binta Kinte, the mother of the lead character Kunta Kinte and she delivers a stunning performance.
The series opens in Gambia and all of the Gambian scenes were filmed in South Africa - in KwaZulu Natal - so the cast includes numerous South Africans. Most of the roles are cameos but Nokuthula and Hakeem Kae-Kazim have stand-out roles.
Hakeem only appears in the first episode but Nokuthula remains a presence throughout, alongside Nigerian-born actor Babs Olusanmokun, who plays Kunta's father Omoro. Their portrayal of their love for Kunta is so spot-on, it's as if they were born for the roles.
Babs was born in Lagos, moved to New York when he was a teen and has had guest roles on Law & Order, Blue Bloods, The Blacklist and Gotham.
Nokuthula is best known for her long time role as Tshidi on Rhythm City and for her starring role as Dumile on e.tv's Umlilo.
Don't miss her on Roots!
It's going to air over four weeks on e.tv, with double episodes each week. You can find you everything you need to know about the series here:
Roots