I Know Bonita's Pain

Hildegardt’s 7de Laan character is desperate to save the life of her sick son – something the actress can relate to after her baby Miles developed heart problems after birth

- Michelle Nortje

A SOFT jersey, stylish jeans and leopard-print stilettos – the outfit she’s wearing today is a far cry from her usual work get-up these days: the drab, baggy uniform of a prisoner

Still, Hildegardt Whites says she has more in common with her incarcerated 7de Laan character, Bonita Meintjies, than people may think.

She may never have been behind bars but she’s all too familiar with Bonita’s devotion to her child – she too would do whatever it takes when it comes to her son.

“It wasn’t easy to film this storyline but I liked the challenge,” Hildegardt says of the scenes that have kept viewers glued to their TV screens in recent weeks.

In the dramatic storyline, Bonita is sent to jail for the kidnapping of Karmen (Gabriella Linton), the baby daughter of Vanessa (Ingrid Paulus) and Xander (Theodore Jantjies).

But she had good reason for doing what she did: Bonita’s little boy, Daniel (Riley Moses), suffers from a rare bone marrow disease and Karmen, his half-sister, is the only suitable donor.

When Vivian (Vinette Ebrahim), the twin sister of Charmaine, lies to Bonita by telling her Daniel is dead, she spirals out of control and starts a fire in the prison in an attempt to commit suicide.

The storyline is so explosive and the dramatic jail scenes so riveting that close to three million people have been tuning in every night to watch the SABC2 soapie, says Rosa-Marie Erasmus, 7de Laan’s spokesperson. It’s a much-needed shot in the arm for the soap, which had seen viewership figures dropping off over the past year.

While she’s enjoying being at the fore front of the action, Hildegardt says the scenes in which Bonita kidnaps Karmen were challenging for her.