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After being overlooked five times, veteran actor Elizabeth Serunye missed the SA Film and Television Awards (Saftas), not realising the sixth time’s a charm.
On Saturday night, the Skeem Saam star finally won her Golden Horn for her portrayal of principal Thobakgale in the category of Best Actress in a TV Soap.
But when her name was called, she was nowhere to be found.
Serunye said she only learnt about her win on Sunday because she had attended a funeral out of Joburg and had switched off her phone.
“I left my house last week Thursday to attend the funeral. I wasn’t expecting anyone to contact me while I was away,” she said.
“I only got to switch on my phone on Sunday morning and to my surprise, I’m flooded with congratulatory messages from many people.
“You can imagine the mixed emotions I was in. Just a day ago I was burying my spiritual father and the following day I was told I won a Safta.”
Having not won countless times before, Serunye was convinced she would once again walk away empty-handed.
“This is the sixth nomination I received in three years. I didn’t know that my sixth try would be it. I was happy with just a nomination because it meant that my work was seen and recognised,” she said.
“I asked my spiritual son to represent me on stage should I win, and funny enough, he kept telling me I was going to win.”