Adhil Ramnath is set to audition for Top Billing as the first-ever Deaf person
Deaf representation in media is a mission for Adhil
Durban, South Africa — The brief was the same for everyone: one minute, one camera, one shot to prove you belong on Top Billing. But when Adhil Ramnath set up his own frame and spoke in the language that is fully his own — South African Sign Language — he did something that moves the conversation about who gets to be seen on mainstream South African television. He stepped forward as a Deaf creative claiming space in one of the country’s most iconic lifestyle shows.
This year, Top Billing has reinvented how it finds talent. After a hiatus since 2019, the show returned to SABC3 with its premiere on 30 April, and a major highlight of the comeback is the revival of the Presenter Search. For 2026, the search has moved to social media: hopefuls record an audition video explaining why they would be the perfect presenter, then post it on Instagram, X, Facebook or TikTok with the hashtags #TopBillingPresenterSearch and #TopBillingAudition, tagging @TopBillingTV and @SABC3, by 30 June. Shortlisted entrants are then invited to in-person auditions, provisionally set for July and August 2026.
For most, that minute is a test of charisma. For Adhil, it is also a statement: that a Top Billing presenter can sign, that mainstream television has room for a Deaf face and a Deaf voice, and that the door so many assumed was closed was only ever waiting to be opened.
“This journey is about breaking barriers, promoting inclusion, and showing that Deaf individuals can achieve anything with determination and support,” Adhil says. He believes it simply and completely — anything is possible — and his audition is the proof he’s offering South Africa.
A career that crosses borders
Adhil’s story does not begin or end with Top Billing. A Deaf South African actor, model, presenter, fashion designer, barista and SASL performer, he has built a career out of refusing the word “no.”
Born in Durban and profoundly Deaf, he communicates through South African Sign Language, lip-reading and spoken language — and has spent years proving, in his own words, that Deaf people can accomplish everything hearing people can. As a fashion designer, he has taken his vision to runways in Dubai, Colombo and Johannesburg. His signature collection, Elegant in Black, was a study in sophistication and self-assurance — timeless, stylish designs that spoke to confidence and individuality, and to the idea that style answers to no barrier.
On the international stage, Adhil represented South Africa at the prestigious International Modeling and Talent Association convention in New York City, training in professional workshops and competing across modelling and acting categories. He returned with a haul of medals — including a first-place finish in Model Spokesperson, and runner-up placings across commercial television, monologue, fashion runway and TV scene — a sweep that revealed not just talent, but range. He was the only performer with a disability to qualify in his acting and modelling categories at the showcase that opened that door, having advanced to the top 20 against more than 600 contestants.
Adhil’s screen work reached well beyond South Africa’s borders. He took a lead role in the international thriller short film Echoes, a project he describes as a career-defining milestone.
“Our short film was officially selected and screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025,” Adhil says. “I was incredibly honoured to be part of this powerful thriller — especially as the first Deaf South African actor to take on a lead role. That moment was a dream come true.”
Advocacy at the heart of it
Adhil is more than a performer; he is a Disability Advocate who turns up where the conversations happen. He works across South Africa’s film and television industry, attending and contributing to platforms including the Durban FilmMart, Durban Film Office initiatives, Kwande Festival, Power24, Nexius and the Durban Screen Summit.
At the inaugural inclusion panel at the Durban Screen Summit— a first of its kind — Adhil spoke openly about his journey as a Deaf actor and fashion model, sharing what it takes to claim space in industries that rarely make room. He offered insights on representation, accessibility and real opportunity for persons with disabilities in the screen sector.
That advocacy finds a home in DAWN — the Disabled Audiovisual Workers Network, of which Adhil is a member. DAWN exists to bring creatives with disabilities into the heart of South Africa’s audiovisual industry — championing fair representation behind and in front of the camera, building access into film and television production, and ensuring disabled workers are not an afterthought but an integral part of the country’s screen story.
Why it matters
A self-recorded minute is a deceptively simple thing. But when a Deaf creative sets the frame, signs to camera and posts it for the country to see, it quietly redraws the picture of who a Top Billing presenter can be. Adhil’s mission is to use fashion, film, media and South African Sign Language to promote diversity, accessibility and empowerment — and to build a more inclusive future for everyone.
His audition is not the finish line. It’s an invitation — to South African media, to audiences, and to every young Deaf person watching — to imagine what mainstream representation looks like when the door is finally open.
His motto says the rest: “Breaking barriers, creating opportunities, and making history through inclusion and representation.”
Be part of the moment
🎥 Watch, like, comment, and share:
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Every view, like, comment and share helps spread this message of representation and possibility. Together, we can inspire others, create awareness, and make history.
Your support means the world. Let’s show South Africa the power of inclusion.
