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Behind the successful minds of 'Come Dine With Me SA'

BBC Brit South Africa will be airing the latest season of popular reality series Come Dine with Me SA.

The series is now in its fifth season, a rarity for the many reality series in South Africa. The show follows a number of guests who score each other’s hosting skills with the hopes of walking away with R10,000.

This season’s celebrity episode will feature Real Housewives of Johannesburg star Christall Kay, radio presenter Lucky du Plessis; TV personality Candice Modiselle and fashion designer Gert Johan-Coetzee.

CEO of Rapid Blue, Duncan Irvine, who has worked on other spin-offs like Strictly Come Dancing, shares that the brand always likes to create a sense of family.

“We don’t work with screamers, we don’t work with drama queens,” says Irvine, sharing that BBC bought shares in their company, which aligns with their credo.

“We are so aligned in terms of the shows we make. We don’t make shows that are exploitative and we don’t make shows that are trying to destroy people. We leave that for the dodgier shows that are out there.” Rapid Blue has been around for 17 years. Executive producer at Rapid Blue, Kee-Leen Irvine, shares that their recipe for success has been reflecting on the diversity and colourful people of South Africa.

As a result, the show has been featured in London, Ireland and even Poland. Her tips for young producers who want to get into the business are: be curious about people and the world around you.

She also stresses that people should have a thick skin. “You are going to get rejected, television is not easy and it is not for the faint-hearted. You need to have a thick skin. You have to be resilient, hardworking and passionate to keep going.”

Come Dine With Me SA season 5 premiers on Monday March 11 at 8pm on BBC Brit (DStv Channel 120).

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