News: Coenie says tata to Kwêla

Coenie de Villiers (Photo supplied)

Cape Town – Coenie de Villiers is leavingKwêla on kykNET (DStv 144) as the latest in a string of familiar faces on the Afrikaans pay-TV channel on MultiChoice's DStv viewers will be seeing less of.

Major production changes behind the scenes at kykNET is currently reshaping what and who viewers will be seeing from April and through the rest of the year on the channel.

Following the cancellation of kykNET's breakfast show Dagbreek, the cancellation of kykNET's long running soap Villa Rosa, the culling of its recently introduced late night time slot strand which is being reduced, and shows like Robinson Regstreeks switching production companies, Coenie De Villiers is now leaving Kwêla after 15 years this year.

De Villiers stayed on for another year when Kwêla suddenly switched production companies at the end of March 2014 from Pieter Cilliers Produksies in Johannesburg to Home Brew Films in Cape Town, but is now leaving.

With De Villiers exiting as the mainstay presenter on the leather couch of the Afrikaans magazine show he fronted weekly for a decade and a half, kykNET says he "made the difficult decision to hand over the Kwêla reigns to a new presenter, which he will assist in choosing along with the Kwêla team".

He will however still be seen on the channel in the future, producing and presenting a new documentary series 'n Ander Wêreld starting on 12 April at 20:00.

In this documentary series he will visit fishermen, long haul truck drivers, cage fighters, drag queens, the homeless and "bergies" and emergency workers, profiling people in jobs and situations rarely seen before.

De Villiers is also involved in the producing of a documentary music programme entitled Vat die Rap, which will be shown on kykNET Musiek (DStv 146) on 25 March.

According to kykNET the date of Coenie de Villiers' final Kwêla episode has not yet been established and he "will continue as the presenter until a suitable replacement has been identified".