Please note that the Carte Blanche team is taking a well-deserved break for the month of December.
As in previous years, M-Net will be broadcasting some of the best Carte Blanche inserts from the past 11 months during this period. Below, please see the Carte Blanche line-ups for Sunday, 17 December, Sunday, 24 December and Sunday 31 December respectively.
17 December 2017 at 19:00 & again on M-Net Plus 1 [901] at 20:00
Bush Racing
Bush racing has become a popular underground pastime in which retired race horses are literally raced to their death. It’s a brutal sport run by gangs across the Western Cape for gambling purposes. Carte Blanche asks: why has law enforcement failed to put an end to this cruel sport?
Producer: Annalise Lubbe
Presenter: John Webb
Mars One
It’s the trip of a lifetime… a one way ticket to Mars, and three South Africans have been shortlisted to join the colony. Mars One is one of the space missions aiming to establish a permanent human settlement on the Red Planet. Several unmanned missions will be completed, establishing a habitable settlement before carefully selected and trained crews finally depart for Mars. Carte Blanche explores this extraordinary mission.
Producer: Diana Lucas
Presenter: John Webb
Scarred, But Not For Life
Almost six years ago a routine early morning drive to the gym changed the life of Kim McCusker in an instant. After a minor bumper bashing, the taxi driver responsible, refused to give his details to her fiancé. Hoping to assist, Kim approached the taxi, but she never got to his window, because he accelerated, knocked her over, and seconds later she was dragged for 780 metres under the vehicle. Carte Blanche tells the remarkable story of her recovery, her will to live, and her family’s love and support that made it all possible.
Producer: Joy Summers
Presenter: Derek Watts
A cut above – SA’s sheep shearing champion
The sporting rivalry between South Africa, New Zealand and Australia is legendary but there’s one sport in which South Africa is the undisputed World Champion – blade sheep shearing. Recently 400 competitors from 31 nations battled it out in the International Sheep Shearing Championships and once again, South Africa came out tops. It’s a physically demanding sport but for titleholder Mayenzeke Shweni, sheep shearing is more than just a game. Carte Blanche meets a winner, who’s a cut above the rest.
Producer: Carol Albertyn Christie
Presenter: Claire Mawisa
Watch the trailer
24 December 2017 at 19:00 & again on M-Net Plus 1 [901] at 20:00
Declining Adoption Numbers
In recent years, the rate of child adoptions in South Africa has declined substantially. Now the Department of Social Development in KZN is accused of deliberately slowing down the adoption process in the province, leaving hundreds of children stuck in places of safety without the hope of finding loving families. Carte Blanche explores a system in crisis.
Producer: Sophia Phirippides
Presenter: Claire Mawisa
Tissue Regeneration
How do you mend a broken heart? New medical research on the zebra-fish could hold the answer. This tiny little freshwater fish has an amazing ability to regenerate its own heart, spinal cord and other tissue and this could offer hope of recovery to millions of people living with permanent heart damage after a heart attack. Carte Blanche explores this medical discovery.
Producer: Eugene Botha
Presenter: Derek Watts
Transport Crook
It’s an easy con – pull in the deals, get subcontractors to do all the work, pocket the big bucks and disappear without paying. That’s how one middleman in the transport industry almost got away with stealing millions from transporters. Carte Blanche tracks down this elusive scamster.
Producer: Nicky Troll
Presenter: Devi Sankaree Govender
Granny runs Geneva
At 86, Deirdre Larkin has proven that age is just a number. She holds the half-marathon world record for women over eighty-five, and she’s also broken the South African 10km record for women over 70. After seeing her story on Carte Blanche, sponsors rushed to help Deidre run her first race in Europe. Now, she’s collected another title at the Geneva Half Marathon. Carte Blanche heads to Switzerland with this remarkable athlete.
Producer: Kate Barry
Presenter: Derek Watts
Watch the trailer.
31 December 2017 at 19:00 & again on M-Net Plus 1 [901] at 20:00
Trevor Noah: A Carte Blanche Special
In 2014, Trevor Noah was just a well-known stand-up comedian with a recurring role as a contributor on one of the biggest talk shows in the USA. Now at 33 years old, Noah is taking on the Big Apple in a big way. His path from apartheid South Africa to the anchor chair of The Daily Show is the stuff of dreams. With a best-selling book already in the bag, sold-out shows around the world and multiple international awards, Carte Blanche takes you behind the scenes into the New York life of South Africa’s favourite export.
Producer: Diana Lucas
Presenter: Devi Sankaree Govender
Watch the trailer.
