Sonia Mbele, pastors and their wives – how it came together

If you are wondering why you no longer catch the ever-vivacious TV personality Sonia Mbele, 44, in front of the camera, that’s because she is too busy behind the scenes producing reality shows.

Her latest project is Pastors’ Wives, a new reality show airing on Honey, a new Pan African lifestyle channel on DSTV 173. This follows on the success of the rather controversial Real Housewives of Johannesburg, which she also produced.

“As it turns out, I am enjoying the behind the scenes,” she enthuses, adding that it is not a walk in the park.

“Look it is not easy, there’s more headaches and heartaches to contend with but I find that fuels me to push harder as there’s so many industry challenges I’d like to correct. At the moment it’s not easy, but I know I’ll get there eventually,” she says.

Mbele says she was invited by the channel to pitch for a reality show idea and because she generally creates and formats her content anyway, it was an easy task to put together Pastor’s Wives.

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While reality show formats in South Africa usually go for the drama and after the scandal, the cheating and showing off of wealth, Pastors’ Wives is in a league of its own. The show is nothing controversial and gives viewers a glimpse into the type of life that pastor’s wives lead. Everyone was expecting the show to be scandalous, considering the actions of many pastors of late and using their wives as accomplices, as with the case of Prophet Bushiri.

“There’s a good balance for sure. The aim was not to seek out scandals, we were looking for real people that viewers would identify with.  I have learned that we’re all the same, cut from the same human cloth,” Mbele says.

While you might think then…boring!  The show is not limited to the pastor’s wives supporting their preacher husbands behind the pulpit.

“The whole point is to showcase the wives as real and authentic as possible. There are many misconceptions as far as the pastor subject is concerned and the aim is to depict them in the most humanly way as possible,” she says, adding there’s no ways anyone would watch them and not be amused by them.

Skeem Saam actress Innocent Sadiki is one of the attractions on the show. Mbele maintains: “Scandals or not, viewers will be left asking for more!”

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