Celebrities line up for Oprah interviews

Clive Muller

SHE‘S the ultimate queen of talk and there‘s just no stopping Oprah Winfrey. Having started The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986, 23 years later her show is still going strong. With a highly successful media career that‘s entering its 23rd year, Oprah is back for another season of celebrity interviews and hard-hitting topics on her award-winning talk show.

The queen of talk is known for interviewing some of the world‘s most renowned icons and her new season – due to premiere on SABC3 on January 1 – will continue to entertain its fans.

Over the years Oprah has not only featured many celebrities on her show but also started her Angel Network, Oprah‘s Book Club reviews as well as sharing her favourite products and gifts on the show in her Favourite Things segments. There‘s also Oprah‘s eternal quest to better herself, and to make the viewers change themselves.

When she‘s not getting up close and personal with the rich and famous, Oprah also reaches out to people in need and sheds light on major issues from around the world.

Since October, The Oprah Winfrey Show has been available in Spanish on several Hispanic TV networks in the US.

Just recently it was reported in the news that Oprah‘s contract for the show, syndicated to 139 countries, is expected to come to an end in 2011 – in the show‘s 25th year on TV. Will she give up her microphone just yet?

Her 23rd season, which premiered in September this year in the US, sees her honour American Olympic medal winners in a “Welcome Home Team USA” feature in the first episode, immediately after the 2008 Beijing Olympics had taken place. Guests featured include swimmer Michael Phelps, gymnast Shawn Johnson and basketball star Kobe Bryant, as 150 athletes all gathered at an open-air gathering on Lake Michigan in Chicago. And since it‘s Oprah, the show will also feature a number of Olympic stories that we might not have heard about yet. The Olympics stars get an Oprah-style homecoming in her hometown, in order for the city to get a high-profile boost to its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Viewers will also get to see some of Hollywood‘s most famous folk make an appearance in studio. They include: singer Beyoncé Knowles, actresses Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow (about life as a mother and wife) actor Tyler Perry, singer Chris Daughtry, actress Halle Berry (on being named the Sexiest Woman Alive by Esquire magazine), as well as actors Will Smith, Rosario Dawson and Tina Fey (of 30 Rock fame).

Must-see episodes this season are: author Jenny McCarthy and actor Jim Carrey discussing their love story, actresses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on how they turned their passions into millions of dollars, Oprah interviewing tennis champion Billie Jean King, singers Charice Pempengco and Celine Dion performing a duet live on TV; Oprah interviewing the cast of the new movie The Secret Life of Bees (starring Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Dakota Fanning) as well as an exclusive interview with disgraced track star Marion Jones-Thompson (discussing her life in jail and why she lied to a grand jury).

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