Actor Tony Kgoroge, axed from pay channel M-Net's new soapie The Wild, said yesterday he will leave it to his union to keep up his fight to be reinstated as a member of the star-studded cast.

Kgoroge was part of a discussion on Talk Radio 702's Redi Tlhabi's show, involving representatives from broadcasters M-Net, SABC and e.tv, and actors including Isidingo's Jack Devnarain, Kgoroge and Tumisho Masha - who is part of The Wild.

"I've decided to leave it to the union, as you can see M-Net are not budging," he said afterwards.

He said he had to get back to doing other production work behind the scenes to "put food on the table".

His wife, Sthandiwe, an actress, is still at home after giving birth to their child.

Kgoroge's credits include appearances in the films Hotel Rwanda, Invictus, Blood Diamond, Skin and in SABC3 soapie Isidingo.

With the help of the Creative Workers Union and other local actors, including Jacob's Cross star Hlomla Dandala, Isidingo's Steven Miyambo, and Masha, Kgoroge picketed outside Montecasino during the soapie's launch on April 3, against "monkey wages".

However, M-Net's Karen Willenberg yesterday said it was "unfair" to suggest that Kgoroge was "unfairly dismissed" and that the actor had failed to sign a cast agreement or a letter of intent with the producers.

Kgoroge said he was expected to sign documents which "stated that they will have my copyright for a lifetime basically". When he refused, he was dismissed.

In the end, the actors and producers agreed to disagree, while tackling various issues, including the payment of royalties to actors for shows that are sold internationally or are repeated on local television.