Winnie Ntshaba on Royalty Soapie Awards 'flop': People celebrated my failures

Winnie Ntshaba has credited God for her unwavering strength during hard times and dry spells as a working actress but she's said that she would never forget watching her peers find joy in her failures.

Winnie has come a long way from the days of playing the rural and meek Khethiwe on Generations and even though she's now one of the most sought after actresses once more, she told Drum that she would never forget how she was ridiculed when her Royalty Soapie Awards flopped.

"I was criticised and humiliated for having a no-show, and people celebrated my failures but I knew that when I came back it would be with a bang,” she said.

The awards, which she created to celebrate the people that bring stories to life on television, struggled for a couple of years since their inception due to funding issues.

"As an actor, I’ve learnt resilience, strength and willpower. I don’t care what people say about me because I know what I’ve overcome. I know my purpose on this Earth."

However, the resilient Winnie explained that she was not in the business of giving up and was expecting to blow everybody out of the water with this year's event in November.

Meanwhile the actress has been thriving lately, having bagged three big acting gigs on three of the most watched TV productions at the moment. The actress plays lead in The Herd as Mamngadi and also recently debuted on Isithembiso and Isibaya.

Winnie told TshisaLIVE in a previous interview that she doesn't take the role acting plays in her life for granted. She explained that it is part of the reason she felt all the stakeholders needed to be shown gratitude for the work they do, through her awards.

But more than that, for her, it was the pure joy and impact of acting on her life and that of the viewers that reigned supreme.

"The great thing with acting is that it always offers escape because in that moment you have to totally embody the character. So just because Winnie is totally different from Mamngadi it doesn't mean when she cries I must cry fake tears. It's not possible. Acting allows you to take on a new character and you learn through them," she said.