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TV darling Bonang Matheba is officially the host of E! Africa. On Thursday night, the Top Billing and Metro FM presenter was revealed as the new host of Africa’s own version of international channel E! Entertainment.
On the show, Matheba will be interviewing African celebrities, the first of which is her rumoured ex-boyfriend Nigerian artist D’banj.
“They have to do this to me – D’banj! That is going to be incredible,” says Matheba.
In September, she was the first African celebrity to feature on E! Africa and, following from that breakthrough, she says: “They said, ‘B, let’s do more things,’ and tonight is basically about kick-starting the red carpet award season.”
Her career has gone from strength to strength these past few years. She was recently re-signed by Revlon as one of the brand’s global ambassadors. “It has been a good three years now. They have renewed it for another couple of years,” she said.
“There is a lot of pressure because, obviously, a lot more work is involved in terms of a lot more shoots. I will be overseas, as opposed to here at home.”
Matheba does not consider herself lucky; “more like hard work meets God’s timing”, she says.
“I am probably the toughest 28-year-old walking on this earth. I have been doing this media thing from the age of 16.”
Asked if she is perceived as a threat by up-and-coming It girls, she says: “The busier you are, the less time you have.
“I am so obsessed with myself that I don’t know if I am a threat to young, upcoming girls in the industry. I am my own critic, concerned about bettering myself.”
On Friday night, Matheba flew to New York for a “meet and greet” with Revlon president Lorenzo Delpani.
This week, she will attend the Ultra Premium Cîroc Grammy Awards afterparty hosted by Justin Bieber in Los Angeles, and will also be filming for her own production company, Bonang Matheba Entertainment, not for E! Africa.
“This is my purpose. You should remember I do not have a child, I do not have a husband, dog or goldfish. So I live and breathe my work,” she says.
Is she going to spend Valentine’s Day with her boyfriend, hip-hop artist AKA, who is in Canada at the moment?
“I will be spending Valentine’s Day with lots of friends in LA and rewarding myself with an outfit for Bieber’s afterparty concert,” she says.
