In the closing weeks of 2008, Eastern Mosaic viewers were invited to participate in the selection of new additions to the presenter team. Fans of this flagship SABC2 property feel a strong sense of ownership in the show – and they jumped at the opportunity to help choose the most promising of the Top 20 candidates in the Eastern Mosaic Presenter Search.

The votes have been counted, the judges have made their assessment – and fourteen talented, telegenic personalities are now on the shortlist. Viewers’ votes enjoyed a one-third weighting in this process and there was a razor-thin margin between many of the candidates. In the interests of fairness, the panel of judges decided to expand the shortlist from ten to 14.

Eastern Mosaic is pleased to announce the fabulous 14 – in alphabetical order:

Maushami Chetty
Dominic Evans
Chandresan Govender
Nidaa Husain
Busi Mbokazi
Adele May
Amica Miakista
Shabnam Palesa Mohamed
Mishka Moodley
Yusuf Moolla
Abigail Nadar
Deshnie Naidoo
Kalysha Naidoo
Darrius Pillay

All 14 candidates will now embark on a period of internship, allowing them to polish their performance and prove their worth in a practical, working environment. Many of them already hold full-time jobs, so this final phase of the process will take place on a part-time basis, with each being given an opportunity to co-present a community-based feature. A member of the highly experienced Eastern Mosaic presenter team will guide each candidate, joining them on location as their co-presenter and mentor.

Throughout the auditions, the judges have been highly impressed with the standard of the applicants: “We have met some very passionate aspiring presenters in the Eastern Mosaic Presenter Search, making this quite difficult for the judges in making their choices. It’s been a long haul and quite a fantastic experience”, said Eugene Mametse - Brand Manager of SABC2

The ultimate goal is to establish a pool of talent across South Africa, with the up-and-coming young presenters covering stories in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town and neighbouring regions. Eastern Mosaic viewers are reminded to keep an eye out for their favourite candidates as they make their individual debuts over the next few months – and see whether they live up to the sparkling potential they have shown thus far.

Watch Eastern Mosaic on SABC 2 every Sunday at 11:00.