Katlego Maboe's Unexpectedly Deal or No Deal Celebrity Hot Seat Win

Katlego Maboe unexpectedly landed in the hot seat in the final episode of Deal or No Deal Celebrity.

And then won R150,000 for Hope Cape Town!

As the host of the daily game show Deal or No Deal South Africa and its star-studded spin-off Deal or No Deal Celebrity, Katlego ‘Kat’ Maboe has held the hands of more than 500 contestants hoping to beat the show’s banker. However, in the final episode of SABC1’s Deal or No Deal Celebrity Season 1, Hulisani Ravele, in cahoots with the banker, flipped the script on Kat.

Whilst welcoming the vivacious radio and television personality and entrepreneur onto the set to win money for the charity of her choice, Kat was caught off guard by a strange phone call from the banker. The mysterious money man, who always relays all his messages through Kat, demanded to speak to Hulisani.

So, Hulisani broke the news to Kat: The banker instructed her to run the show for this special episode, and he would be the one in the hot seat.

The turn of events also came as a complete surprise for the twenty Money Models who had been holding the briefcases which Mzansi’s A-listers had to open one by one in the hopes of donating large sums of money to worthy causes.

Kat, for whom marrying his talent with purpose has always been a priority, chose Hope Cape Town, a charity with which he has worked since entering the entertainment scene in 2010. This non-profit organisation provides holistic services, medical treatment, care, and support to numerous marginalised communities adversely affected by HIV/AIDS.

Kat said, explaining his spur-of-the-moment decision to play the game on behalf of Hope Cape Town:

“They have programmes for mothers, for children, for the entire family, keeping them together. Families being together is so important, and that’s also what is at the core of a show like Deal or No Deal.”

Still, the question remained: How would Katlego Maboe fare when playing this exhilarating game of chance?

After picking briefcase number 10 as his bargaining chip against the banker, Kat confessed to Hulisani that he now has “mad respect” for everyone who has ever been in the show’s hot seat:

“Everything inside, from my heart to my intestines, is shaking!”

The Deal or No Deal host’s first-round strategy of opening the briefcases by selecting “throwaway” numbers that held little significance for him was not a strong start, but the second round was disastrous. One of these briefcases contained the jackpot amount of R250,000. However, after some entertaining song and dance and sharing personal anecdotes with Hulisani – as other contestants typically do in response to his questions – Kat redeemed himself with a spectacular third round. Thereafter, Lady Luck seemed to smile upon him, but the nerves set in again when there were only four amounts on the Money Tree, representing the unopened briefcases: R750, R2500, R100,000 and R150,000. No stranger to Deal or No Deal, Kat knew how easily it could go south.

Fortunately, he knocked the R750 off the Money Tree, prompting the banker to tempt him with an offer of R77 700 for his briefcase – a substantial donation for Hope Cape Town. Kat rejected the banker’s bid, praying that his next call would leave him with the R100 000 and R150 000 intact. His prayers were answered, and with that, Kat decided to go all the way by calling it a “no deal” on the banker’s subsequent offer of R125,000.

It was a sound decision as Kat’s briefcase number 10 contained a R150 000 donation to Hope Cape Town.

However, the banker interrupted Kat’s jubilations with another unexpected call. Since Hulusani was supposed to be the celebrity guest playing for charity, the banker generously gifted the Takalani Children’s Home R50 000.

“Being a part of this surprise final episode of Deal or No Deal Celebrity was incredibly special! Katlego is a phenomenal broadcaster, whom I hold in high regard, so getting to fill his shoes and play host to him trying to beat the banker is an experience I will treasure forever. I am also immensely grateful for the R50 000 that was donated to my charity of choice, Takalani Children’s Home in Siloam, Venda, which will go a long way in ensuring the children are supported in their daily needs and well-being,” Hulisani said about her stint on the show.

With the final episode’s giveaways included, Deal or No Deal Celebrity has donated R2,255,157.00 to charity organisations courtesy of the show’s headline sponsor, LottoStar. The A-listers who put their hearts on the line for a good cause were legendary actors, musicians, comedians, television and radio presenters and sports stars.

Deal or No Deal Celebrity premiered on SABC1 on Saturdays at 18:00, with rebroadcast on S3 on Sundays at 12:00 and SABC 1 on Tuesdays at 22:00.

In its new home on SABC 2, Mondays to Fridays at 18:30, the massively popular Deal or No Deal South Africa will continue to enrich the lives of ordinary South Africans. On Saturdays at 18:00, beloved Mzansi A-listers took big risks to boost the bank balances of charities close to their hearts in the glitzy hour-long SABC 1 spin-off called Deal or No Deal Celebrity with rebroadcasts on S3 on Sundays at 16:30, and SABC 1 on Tuesdays at 22:00. You can also watch the latest episode on SABC+.

The daily and weekly South African standalone Deal or No Deal series, is produced by Homebrew Films for Primedia Studios’ spectacular content slate.

LottoStar is Licensed by the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator. No U18. National Responsible Gambling Programme 0800 006 008. Ts & Cs apply. All games are fixed-odds betting events.