Relebogile Mabotja Receives SAFTA Nomination
Relebogile Mabotja and GOAT Originals are celebrating a powerful new milestone as Untied, the bold and emotionally resonant Showmax Original that Relebogile Mabotja hosts and is credited as Associate Producer for, has officially received a South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) nomination in the category Best Variety Show.
For Relebogile Mabotja and GOAT, the nomination lands as more than an industry nod. It is a recognition of a project that demanded honesty, sensitivity, and a deep respect for women’s lived experiences.
“Untied was never meant to be noise,” says Relebogile Mabotja. “It was always meant to be truth. To see the show recognised by the SAFTAs in this way, and in a category like Best Variety Show, feels incredibly affirming. Not just for me, but for every woman who trusted us with her story.”
Untied has quickly distinguished itself as one of Showmax’s most daring and emotionally layered originals. It is a space where some of South Africa’s most recognisable women sit down to unpack the reality of divorce, heartbreak, survival, and rebuilding. Across the season, the series invites audiences into raw, often unspoken conversations. It does so not for spectacle, but for healing.
Relebogile Mabotja, long celebrated as one of South Africa’s most respected broadcasters and producers, stepped into Untied as both host and associate producer. Relebogile Mabotja guided each episode with the kind of care and nuance that has defined her career.
“As the host, I had to hold space,” she adds. “But as associate producer, I also carried the responsibility of ensuring these stories were treated with dignity. It mattered to me that the women were not reduced to headlines. It mattered to me that their pain was not packaged. It mattered to me that their truth could breathe.”
The SAFTA nomination marks a significant moment for Untied’s production team, including GOAT, the producers behind some of Showmax’s most-watched titles. The nomination also reinforces Showmax’s growing slate of culturally urgent, conversation-shifting African originals.
“This nomination is a reminder that audiences, and the industry, are ready for stories that are layered,” says Relebogile Mabotja. “Stories that do not tidy women up for comfort. Untied is messy, tender, heartbreaking, and empowering, because healing is all of those things.”
For Relebogile Mabotja, it is also a reminder of why she continues to do this work. It is not only to entertain, but to create television that reflects real life, in all its complexity.