Murdered cover girl to appear in reality TV show

Johannesburg, Feb 16 (AFP) Blonde covergirl Reeva Steenkamp, who was allegedly shot dead by her lover Oscar Pistorius, will appear in a pre-recorded celebrity reality TV show in South Africa Saturday, two days after her death shocked the nation and the world. The 29-year-old, who was shot four times at the Olympian's home in the early hours of Valentine's Day on Thursday, will make a posthumous prime-time debut in "Tropika Island of Treasure." On Saturday Pistorius, the 26-year-old South African Paralympics gold medallist, faced a third night in police custody, accused of murdering Steenkamp, the woman who described him as her "boo" and "an amazing person". The reality show, shot on location in Jamaica, features the slain model and law graduate as well as several local personalities competing for one million rand (USD 113,500) prize money. Producers decided not to shelve the show, instead painting its broadcast as a tribute to Steenkamp. Forensics teams are still working at Pistorius's home to try and establish what took place before and after Steenkamp was shot in the head and hand. "She was happy, healthy, beautiful and vibrant and that's the way she should be remembered," said executive producer Samantha Moon said in a statement. In an earlier statement Moon said the decision to broadcast Tropika Island of Treasure 5 was taken after "much deliberation." "This week's episode will be dedicated to Reeva's memory." The show will be broadcast on state television channel SABC1 after Steenkamp's mother had given the showing her blessing. "Yesterday the mother agreed that we should go ahead and we are free to go ahead and we are working on how to pay tribute to her," said Kaizer Kganyagon, a spokesman for SABC. The audience is expected to be much larger than the 2.5 to 3.0 million viewers who normally watch the show, which is now in its fifth season. "The number that we expect will be obviously more than the normal, because now everybody wants to see this person that was killed two days ago." The hour-long show will air at 6:30 pm (1630 GMT), with a special tribute to be broadcast before. Trailers show a beaming and vivacious Steenkamp clad in a bikini and other skimpy clothing. The show is described as "pure adrenaline-fuelled drama... Whether diving off 75-foot Jamaican cliffs into the ocean, recreating 'Cool Runnings' or meeting Jamaican celebrities". (AFP) RBL 02162120 NNNN