Scandal! viewers are saddened by the alleged departure of Matthews Rantsoma, who portrays the role of Nhlamulo.
MATTHEWS RANTSOMA LEAVES E.TV SOAPIE?
Entertainment commentator Phil Mphela reports that fan-favourite character Nhlamulo, played by Matthews Rantsoma, is written out of Scandal!
“Matthews Rantsoma dropped by Scandal!. The actor, who joined the e.tv soapie in 2021 will be leaving the show. Rantsoma plays Nhlamulo on the show,” says Mphela.
Rantsoma joined the popular soapie in 2021 as Lindiwe’s (Nomvelo Makhanya) lover and a forex trader, Nhlamulo Maseko.
IOL reports that Nhlamulo left female fans weak-kneed when he made his debut on the show. His poetic lingo earned the actor the nickname of “Kasi Shakespeare”.
Nhlamulo’s on-screen wife, Lindiwe, died after she gave birth to their daughter, Larona, and he remarried his first baby mama, Vuvu (Mamarumo Marokane).
News of Rantsoma’s exit comes after the Broadcasting Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA) revealed in March and April that Scandal! lost its signature first position.
The long-running soapie lost its first position to e.tv’s fashion telenovela, House of Zwide, in March when SABC1’s soapie, Skeem Saam, joined the 19:30 timeslot.
House of Zwide remained the most-watched TV show on e.tv in April with 4.8 million viewers while Scandal! is in fifth place with 3.8 million viewers.
The South African reached out to Scandal! for comment, who was not available at the time of publishing this article.
‘SCANDAL!’ FANS SURPRISED BY HIS EXIT
@Shoes112345: “‘Dropped’ njani? But this Man is killing that role.”
@anelisiwe_landu: “Jhooo if they drop him then oMdala, Taps, Vuvu and Thlogi won’t make sense.”
@majiesthulisiwe: “Awu that’s so sad, I really enjoyed watching him as Nhlamulo. Hopefully we will see him again on a different show.”
@LunganiMdunge: “He is the face of Scandal… to think he started in 2021 mind blowing.”
@BoikhutsoML: “All the characters that came with him will make sense, Tlhogi is with Taps, Mdala Le Simone. Its only his parents that won’t survive. Nhlamulo’s peak was with Mama’s and Wakahina, we must move. Scandal! dropped Romeo and casted him as a face, they will surely survive.”Scandal! fans also bid farewell to Matthews Rantsoma’s on-screen wife, Lindiwe, in November 2022 when she died in hospital.
Award-winning actress Nomvelo Makhanya, who played Lindiwe Ngema, revealed on social media that she nearly killed herself because of the toxic work environment at e.tv’s Scandal!
“I’ve been the one that’s been catching all the f*cken smoke… It wasn’t me guys, it wasn’t my choice. They wrote me off, that’s the truth… It was God’s plan though, I’m going to tell you that for real.
“I’ve been praying. I’ve been wanting to leave that place. For me it was something I had really been praying about. So, when it finally happened it really felt like God was removing me from the toxic environment. I probably would have killed myself. There was a 90% chance. That’s how toxic that place was,” she said.