Kuhle Adams and Jamie-Lee Domburg were named as the winners of "Presenter Search on 3" on Wednesday.
Wasting no time in starting their new lives, the duo will officially take up their positions as the newest presenters of SABC3’s feel-good morning show Expresso on Monday, 4 November.
For their final and deciding challenge, the four finalists each had to conduct an interview with a high-profile guest in the Expresso studio. They had a day to prepare and research their subject, and then it was showtime, live in front of judges Thando Thabethe, Dr Musa Mthombeni and Roger Goode.
The nerves were tangible as each finalist sat down opposite a larger-than-life personality. TV host and actress Khanyi Mbau, hip hop star and actor Angu Makubalo, COO of McDonald’s South Africa Jo-Ann de Wet and Miss South Africa 2019 Zozibini Tunzi each had a turn on the couch, giving Nathaneal Davids, Jamie-Lee, Deen Woodman and Kuhle their final chance to bring their A game.
The intricacies of an in-studio interview might not be visible to the viewer but the finalists had to manage the reality of three cameras aiming at them from different angles, an earpiece into which a floor manager gave them instructions, inserts to announce and questions to remember while listening and responding appropriately to their guest’s answers… not the easy task it may seem when watching!
Jamie-Lee’s bubbly interview with muso Angu Makubalo and Kuhle’s warm and personable chat with Miss SA clinched the deal, and the judges were unanimous in their final decision. “It was a really tough call, but I feel confident that we made the right decision here tonight,” said Roger Goode as the panel announced their decision.
Executive producer Patience Stevens, the woman behind the show, was full of compliments for all four the finalists.
And as for the two ladies of the moment, it was an emotional night for both Kuhle and Jamie-Lee. “We’ve been warned about the hard work that is ahead, about the early mornings and the late nights… but we are SO ready,” says Kuhle, who will have to relocate from Johannesburg amid starting her new slot on Expresso. Jamie-Lee agrees: “This is not television – this is dreams come true!”
Watch Kuhle and Jamie-Lee start their new careers on Monday, on "Expresso", weekdays at 6:30 on SABC3.