Popular Mzansi Magic telenovela ‘The Queen’ has announced the return of actress Cindy Mahlangu who will resume her role as Siyanda.
This is not the first character to return from the dead. Former main character Jerry Maake played by Shona Ferguson was also killed but rose from the dead. As a way of exiting the show for good, he got killed off again.
SK Khoza who plays Shaka Khoza also had a dramatic exit from the show. The petition worked, as it was announced months later that he would be returning. The fans were livid especially by his ‘weak’ departure which was seen as not fit for the character he played.
The petition gained over 29 300 signatures, with a target set at 35 000, went viral and many believe it played a major role in getting him back on set. Even though at the time he was so sure that he would not be returning, he told his fans to not be hopeful as he is not returning.
The Fergusons defended themselves against ‘exploitation’ accusations by saying characters come and go, it is nothing new. “This is a soap, its a Telenovela…characters come and go, that’s how soap operates. It is for story line purposes and sometimes to introduce another story, but characters come and go. This is not something exclusive to The Queen…It happens everywhere and it happens every time,” Connie responded.
