She's Back!

It’s been a long time, but the wait has been worthwhile - the original soapie baddie Pamela Nomvete is back and slaying in her new role in Lockdown.

- Ruwaydah Harris

SHE’S best known for the serious, powerful and often tragic characters she portrays so convincingly on screen. Who could ever forget Ntsiki Lukhele, the infamous baddie she brought to life in Generations in the late 1990s – a character still considered one of the best TV villains of all time?

But the woman we see today is anything but serious. Posing for pictures, Pamela Nomvete cracks jokes, pulls funny faces and has everyone in stitches.

It’s almost impossible to fathom that she once plunged into the depths of depression, and was so down and out, she was homeless and had to sleep in her car.

She’d hit rock bottom but managed to beg and borrow enough to get a one-way ticket back to her family in the UK where she started rebuilding her life. Now those dark days of 10 years ago are well and truly a thing of the past.

This lady is back – and her fans are overjoyed.

In true Pamela style, she’s clinched a meaty role in the second season of Lockdown, Mzansi Magic’s popular female prison drama.

And Lockdown fans, prepare to be blown away! If you thought the first season was groundbreaking, you’re in for a paradigm shift this time round.

“I play the role of Deborah Banda, a prison warden who’s incredibly complex, efficient, bossy, volatile and exhausting,” says Pamela, rolling her eyes for extra emphasis.

“The woman is just stressed. She has terrible demons and her complexities are fed by the relationships she has with people around her.

“You’re in for a ride,” she warns viewers. “He [director and producer Mandla Ngcongwane] hasn’t held back this time.”