Scandal!'s favourite villain Mthunzi Mayiza makes major TV comeback tonight

Bongile Mantsai is tonight making his Scandal! comeback as villain Mthunzi Mayiza, the fan-favourite character that made him a household name and won him a SA Film and Television Award (Safta).

Speaking exclusively to Sowetan on Tuesday afternoon, the 44-year-old actor spilt the tea on what viewers of the e.tv daily drama can expect.

For starters, he teased that he will share most of his scenes with new addition to the show Owen Sejake (Sammy Day) and Kwenzo Ngcobo (Nhloso Gasa), who joined the show last year.

“It was a tough decision to take when I received the call to come back as Mthunzi because I’ve been complaining about always playing a villain. Even in the last show [Gqeberha: The Empire], I was a villain. I really felt that I needed another challenge,” he said.

“What made things worse was that people kept asking me when am I coming back as Mthunzi.  Or they’d tell me how much they miss seeing Mthunzi on their screens. So, their cries kind of pre-empted my return on their screens.

“It was one of the characters that built my career and opened many doors for me. Yes, it was and still is one of the toughest roles I’ve had to embody but it’s my most pivotal. The decision to come back was scary yet exciting at the same time."

Mantsai started shooting his scenes a month ago and said a lot had changed since he was last on the show five years ago.

“Mthunzi is coming back with a lot of anger towards certain things that didn’t go his way. As a well-known villain, part of his return comes with a plan to deal with new characters and their storylines”, he said.

“When I left, everyone else was still around. I didn’t only leave the character but the family and bond that was here. So, it was quite a sad period. If you recall, I worked on the show for several years and part of that gave me growth in life.”

Mantsai’s return coincides with a huge storyline shakeup with the addition of new characters. Wright Ngubeni joins as Botsotso, Bongani Gumede as Ephraim, Khutjo Green as Kedibone, Danny De Bruyne as De Wet and Bothlale "Nia Brown" Baitsiwe will play Tshidi.

“I had to navigate back to who Mthunzi was but this time bearing in mind the new storylines that he has to get used to,” he said.

"I have more of a friendship with Kwenzo. He and I usually hang out and catch up. We’ve always wanted to work together and now we get to spend time together on and off set.”

Mantsai, who has also appeared in iNumber Number: Jozi Gold, Blood Psalms, Grootman & Sons and The Republic, said one of the biggest challenges with fame was that the public don't always separate him from the bad characters he portrays.

“I always tell people that I come from a church-orientated background. My father was a bishop,” he said.

“From a young age, I became a youth pastor and had to follow Christian customs, and this is very much my life today. I’m staunch in my faith. So, the clash happens whenever I’m invited to speak or preach at school concerts or church functions; people tend to question the role that I play on TV and the person speaking at the podium."