TVSA can reveal the manner in which
Isidingo villain Cherel de Villers-Haines (played by
Michelle Botes) will be written out of the show.
It's happening late in March, and if you don't want to be spoiled you should stop reading right now. Seriously - now.
Still here? Good.
Just filling out some space, to help any hapless spoiler victims who somehow got confused by the massive SPOILER! in the title of this article.
Dum-de-dum.
OK. Right. Here goes.
She goes mad. You betcha - loony tunes. They stick her in an asylum and leave her to rot, which we believe paves the way for a possible future return once Botes has done a stint or 28 on M-Net's soapie
Binnelanders.
Whackjob. Nutter. Fruity Loops. It's a delicious prospect, you have to admit - one final bravura performance from Michelle Botes, going out in a blaze of gibberish, could be a fitting end for the villainous schemer.
Here's how it all happens:
Thursday 15 MarchAnton Bornman attacks Cherel and by the time the security guards have detached him from her throat, her vital signs have ceased - but she's not dead. If you hadn't read this you'd be assuming that was the way Cherel went out, but you'd be wrong - nothing as mundane as that.
Monday 19 MarchA bruised Cherel returns to ON!TV and makes it clear she is back on the horse and determined to do her next show.
Tuesday 20 MarchCherel is confronted by a small group of women she thinks are fans. The women proceed to revile her.
Wednesday 21 MarchVusi meets with Cherel and explains that the evil Cherel has done has left a festering wound in her soul.
Thursday 22 MarchLolly determines to interrogate Cherel as brutally as she can, but is astonished, in the course of the interview, to find Cherel willing to admit culpability.
Friday 23 MarchLee is convinced that Cherel is on the brink of a disastrous collapse.
Monday 26 MarchCherel sees Anton at Papa G's, and threatens him with dire consequences if he comes anywhere near her again.
Tuesday 27 MarchCherel feels an insect in her hair and loses her composure during a Straight Talk recording.
Wednesday 28 MarchCherel, eager to release the restless dead, sneaks into the make-up room and finds a blade.
Thursday 29 MarchCherel is rushed to hospital, where a doctor pumps her full of tranquilizers and tells Rajesh that he's keeping her for 72 hours of observation.
Friday 30 MarchCherel is moved, against her wishes, to an asylum for the mentally ill which, it appears, might be her residence for a very long time...
For all Isidingo episode teasers for March, go here:
Isidingo Teasers: March 2007We don't yet know whether Cherel will appear in any episodes in April, so it is theoretically still possible for her to be killed off in the asylum or to have some other misfortune befall her.
Somehow we don't think so - leaving her in the asylum leaves it open for Botes to reprise her role at some stage in the future. Whether she does or not is pure speculation right now.
So what do hardened Isidingo fans think? A satisfying ending to one of South Africa's greatest soapie villains, or would you have preferred her dead?
We have disabled replies on this story to avoid spoilers on the TVSA homepage, but you can chat all about it on this forum thread:
Cherel's Exit Revealed (SPOILER)