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CT man to host Survivor SA
17/07/2006 07:04 - (SA)
Cape Town - The best-kept secret in South African television is out: Mark Bayly, a little-known Capetonian with a dashing smile and a penchant for adventure, has clinched the coveted presenter slot on Survivor South Africa: Panama.
The show kicks off on Sunday, September 3 in M-Net's Open Time.
Media rumours abounded in recent weeks, linking Colin Moss of Idols fame, Big Brother winner Ferdinand Rabie and the Aqua Archer's guy, Gareth Tjasink, to the project.
There were also speculations about big-name celebrities queuing up to audition, long after Bayly had secured the job.
Carl Fischer, head of M-Net's Original Productions, says the channel decided to look very hard for a presenter who could be strongly identified with the Survivor brand, without entirely ruling out experienced presenters.
"Our mission was to look for someone without any strong association with an existing television programme; possibly a new face that would fit into the Survivor programme's profile. We were thrilled when Mark turned up to audition. He is an intelligent action man, he looks the part and he has an incredible screen presence."
Marie Rosholt, head of Entertainment and Infotainment at Endemol SA, the production company behind Survivor SA agrees. "It is always risky to introduce a new presenter, but we have an excellent track record in this regard. Mark joins Colin Moss and Mark Pilgrim as brand new television presenters we introduced to the small screen, and I have no doubt that he will also be hugely popular."
Veiled in secrecy, Survivor's host and some of the contestants arrived back in South Africa at the weekend, after a gruelling month on a Panama island, where five international productions of the show were being filmed simultaneously.
Bayly describes his experiences there as "absolutely unbelievable". "It was much tougher than anyone expected. When I heard about Survivor South Africa, I was keen to take part as a contestant. I have to admit: I'm thrilled that I ended up as presenter instead. It was incredibly harsh for them. Viewers are in for one heck of a treat."
It's not as though Bayly is a stranger to tough challenges. He describes himself as a watersport junkie, and he has taken part the gruelling Cape-to-Rio yacht race. The Survivor job, he states plainly, is a dream come true. "I still can't believe I got it. Am I dreaming or what? I love Survivor; I've watched every episode of every series screened in South Africa."
He rates Jeff Probst of the US Survivor series as one of the best presenters in television and studied his work closely before shooting on the SA series got under way, but feels it would be silly to aim at becoming a clone of the original.
"I can learn from him, but it's important to project my own personality. Otherwise it would come across as phoney and unbelievable."
M-Net will release the names of the contestants at a later date.
- News24
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South Africa
