She is currently between scenes but the gorgeous Rikki Brest still found time in her busy schedule to speak to us. The starlet has landed a role in popular SABC 3 soapie Isidingo and is prepping for the highly anticipated premier of SA’s hottest new reality TV series, Clifton Shores, which will screen on Vuzu.

The last few days have been a whirlwind of interviews, photo shoots and publicity ahead of the premier of Clifton Shores. How are you feeling?

I’m feeling grateful, very grateful. Although it’s exhausting I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m loving being busy. I’m having fun and it’s all so exciting.

Last night was the show’s premier – how much of what we are seeing is real?

It’s all real. It’s not scripted at all – they can put us in situations but they can’t tell us what to say or do. Obviously we aren’t filming 24/7 so if anything happened off camera that they wanted, we’d redo it. So that part might not be in the moment per say but it still happened and it’s still real of course.

Clifton Shores is a pretty big deal – what’s it been like to be a part of something like this?

There are so many critics out there who aren’t even going to give the show a chance but it’s great because I got to live the life for three months. It was a lot of fun and we got to experience so much. If people embrace the show and give it a chance they will fall in love with the people – no matter how ditzy and dramatic they can be.

Our readers are dying to know – what’s going to happen during this season?

All I can say is that whatever you think is going to happen doesn’t happen! There’s a lot of excitement and twists – Clifton Shores is anything but predictable!

The show takes you by surprise and you see people come out of their shells and lose their sh*t…if I may put it like that! Being in a house with six other girls can drive a person crazy!

Speaking of the other girls, did you form any real friendships with them?

I feel particularly close to Claire and Brett – I think mainly because they are South African. They’re Capetonian so I felt most at home with them.

How do you think you compare to the other girls on the show?

I haven’t been brought up in a very materialistic world so I’m very different. You see how different I am because I’m a lot quieter – I wait my turn to speak. I’m almost like the big sister of the group, they’d all come to me for advice.  I’m the one who sets them straight and who tells them what they’re doing is wrong.

I think a lot of people might find that boring but it definitely in contrast to all the very strong personalities that are in your face all the time.

The Rikki that we see on Clifton Shores – is that you 100%?

It’s me 100% but put in a very intimidating situation – I come across a lot more introverted then I actually am. In my own personal life I take a lot more control and I’m a lot more out there. But in this situation, being around such incredibly beautiful girls that I literally couldn’t stop staring at… they are also very loud and in your face that if you don’t scream over them you’re not going to get heard and I’m not that type of person.

Have you watched all the episodes then?

No, I’ve only watched up until the eighth episode so it’s even going to be a surprise for me! I’m not sure if that’s a good thing…

How does it feel to watch yourself?

It’s weird – there’s lots of cringing involved! When we first started filming we were all very aware of the cameras but eventually you get to a point where you stop noticing – you really can’t be ‘on camera’ 24/7.

We started filming in January 2011, so that’s about a year and a half ago! I’m a different person and I’ve grown a lot.

During filming, what was your highlight?

Living in Cape Town; I actually loved it and had plans to move there. August 2012 was my deadline and as you know, it hasn’t happened. But it’s definitely still an option for me…

Looking back through this past year do you think there are any lessons you have learned?

I’ve learnt not to doubt myself. Like with Top Gear, I didn’t think for a second that they’d choose me to co-host alongside Sasha Martinengo and Tiff Needell.  Presenting to 60 000 people is intimidating but, you can either freak out about it or realise that they wouldn’t have hired you if they didn’t think you were capable.

So, what have you got in store for the rest of 2012?

Definitely a week’s holiday!  For now, I’m going to focus on my music, presenting and radio show. So I’ll get back to those and see what happens next. Maybe next year I’ll make it to Cape Town…

Watch Clifton Shores on Vuzu (DStv channel 123) on Tuesdays at 21:00.

Photos courtesy of Daniel Parker and Clifton Shores.