Life after The Queen: Actress Zandile Msutwana opens up

Mzansi actress Zandile Msutwana is counting her blessings as she has landed a new role after Mzansi Magic’s The Queen was canned.

The actress will be appearing in Gqeberha: The Empire, which is replacing The Queen.

The last episode of The Queen airs on Friday, and Gqeberha: The Empire will premiere on Monday, 16 January at 9pm.

Speaking to Daily Sun, the 43-year-old actress said: “I am lucky and blessed, but I worked hard for it. I’m looking forward to more, but I understand opportunities like these don’t come easy to South African actors and actresses.

“As much as it looks like I jumped from one show to the next, it didn’t happen like that. I stopped The Queen in March and we started filming the new show in November.

“I had a number of months where I wasn’t working, and that’s the norm in the industry.”

Zandile, who played the role of Vuyiswa on The Queen, said she hoped viewers would not compare her old character to her new one, a cop called Zimkhitha.

“I hope people will embrace the change.”

When asked about her new character, Zandile said she didn’t want to share much because she wanted people to see for themselves.

“Zimkhitha is the second wife of Luzuko Mxenge, played by Mbulelo Grootboom, and she is deceitful and two-faced,” she said.