Nelson Mandela doccie gets all the love on social media

Former president Nelson Mandela may be gone but his legacy and his life continues to be celebrated.

His former personal assistant, Zelda la Grange, has people singing her praises for introducing South Africans to a side of Mandela that most didn't get to see through a new series, Madiba: 'n Uitsonderlike Roeping.

La Grange told the 947 Breakfast team that she chose the name because it represented Mandela.

"People say we make a saint of him. We not.  He wasn't a saint. He was an ordinary human being that just tried harder than most of us are willing to. This documentary shows you that life prepared him for everything that awaited."

The first episode of the six-part documentary premiered on Sunday on kykNET. The remaining episodes will air during the course of the week.

In pursuit of the story, Zelda travelled to Mvezo in the Eastern Cape, where Mandela was born and raised. "On 18 July 1918 Rolihlahla Mandela was born on the banks of the Mbashe river in Mvezo. It is breathtakingly beautiful there and one gets a sense of 'greatness' being present," she wrote on Instagram

La Grange said the story also delves into her experiences with Mandela. "My journey starts the day I meet Nelson Mandela for the first time. But then we travel back in time to try and understand more about the person."