It was hush-hush and no-one knew.
Then, next thing, boom! - there she was: a strange and new presenter on Our Perfect Wedding appeared from nowhere on the Season 10 premiere on Sunday, 29 March 2020.
Who is she? Where is she from? And why is she holding the mic instead of an Overexposed?
Mzansi Magic's Sunday nighter is well known for making a splash of their new presenters who regularly switch and change for new seasons.
It's been such a phenomenon that the show turned it into a spin-off reality search in 2017 with the OPW Presenter Search, which was won Kayise Ngqula.
But for Season 10 there wasn't a word about anything until Khanyisa Titus debuted.
We were all over that shiz when we spotted her on Sunday and we've had our radar to the ground to find out more.
We asked Mzansi Magic and the show's producers Connect TV how she was cast and they tell us it was through a closed audition process.
They were tasked with finding a new presenter for the season and asked agents to submit suitable potentials.
After this they invited contenders for video auditions and cast Khanyisa from these.
She then went through training and workshops before filming on the season started.
Turns out Khanyisa went to the 2017 open auditions with her cousin because they wanted to "try our luck" but they never auditioned. They got there early morning and left by mid-afternoon because of queue exhaustion.
So who
is she? We asked and Khanyisa answered.
In her own words...
I am a young, vibrant South African with a strong love for television and media. I was born on the 5th of April 1990 in Umtata in the Eastern Cape.
However, I would say that I was “partly” raised in Eastern Cape because at the age of 7, my family and I moved to Pretoria where I attended school and later matriculated.
It was during my years of primary schooling that my passion for Journalism ignited after having fallen in love with an old character by the name of Tshego Motene on Generations who played the role of a newspaper journalist.
Her character stood out for me, kept me intrigued and I knew that the media space was where I had to be one day.
In 2012, I successfully completed my undergraduate studies, obtaining a Bachelor of Social Science degree in Journalism and Media Studies, Anthropology and Sociology from Rhodes University.
I went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Motion Picture Medium, majoring in Television Producing from AFDA with Cum Laude. I also hold a Masters degree majoring in Screenplay and Story Adaptation (Screenwriting) from AFDA.
Since 2009, I have been actively involved in the “behind the scenes” space of the media industry. My experience kicked off whilst at Rhodes doing vacation shadow work in recognized print media establishments, where I had a few of my journalistic articles published in newspapers such as Pretoria News, The Sowetan and The Herald newspaper.
I then wanted to diversify my skills and learn more about radio and broadcast news so I continued doing vacation shadow work at establishments such as Radio Channel Africa, SABC Radio News and eNews (now ENCA).
After graduating from Rhodes, I wanted to explore television and I guess I can safely say that after dipping my fingers in many pies within the media industry, I found where my passion truly lay.
It was in 2013 where my journey began by being an Office Administrator and Production Assistant at Moonlighting Films in Cape Town. I went on to fill Producer roles at ANN7, Urban Brew Studios - working on the popular music television show Live Amp - and an Assistant Director on television drama Z’Bondiwe Season 1.
I also filled respective roles as Researcher and Production Coordinator on shows such as SABC 1‘s youth television show TOMz (Teenagers on a Mission), SABC 1 health and fitness show Mnandi Me, Moja Love TV’s Show Me Love and within a variety of smaller production companies over the years.
Indeed, after reading about all my “behind the scenes, 9 to 5, office working girl experience” one would ask how being a presenter came about - right?
Well, whilst developing the attitude of knocking on many doors to see where my true passion and skills lie, I was also trying to develop myself as a voice over artist and it is for this reason that in 2019 I joined a talent management agency.
After about a month of being with my agency, I was told that Out Perfect Wedding was holding private auditions and that my name had been put forward to try my luck.
I was nervous about the audition because I had honestly never considered myself as a TV Presenter (other than the occasional acting as one in front of the mirror when no one was watching).
It took one audition, a month of waiting and one phone call saying “You got it, they loved you!” from my agent that would bring the biggest change in my life.
I have fallen in love with being a host on Our Perfect Wedding because of how it has somehow made my belief of challenging yourself and just doing everything you can do until the right door opens to make that much more sense.
I hope to inspire others in this new role, especially as an unknown face making her debut on such a big show in South Africa that it is possible if you just commit to looking for the right opportunity UNTIL the right opportunity finds you! This is definitely my testimony.
From here, I am to grow as a host, to learn and to better my craft. My aim is to stay hungry, humble and yearn for more within the media industry and as a young black female entrepreneur.