TWO EX-GMA TALENTS CONNIVE WITH WILLIE
FREEHAND
Mario Bautista
People's Journal
TONI Gonzaga and Mariel Rodriguez feel honored and, at the same time,challenged to be chosen as regular hosts of ABS-CBN's big budgeted reality TV show, "Pinoy Big Brother."
Toni will be the primetime host from Monday to Friday while Mariel will host the late night editions and do the daily updates. On Saturday, Willie Revillame will host the live eviction telecast that eliminates one contestant each week while Asia Agcaoili will host the show's edition on Studio 23.
Before the show's official grand launch on August 22, it will have a three-part primetime primer. Primer One is "Eto Na si Kuya" on August 13 showing the huge success of "Big Brother" in various countries abroad. On August 20 is "Ang Bahay ni Kuya" where viewers will be given a guided tour of the house especially built by ABS-CBN on Scout Albano St. for the show. On August 21, "Ang Party ni Kuya" will have a live street fiesta where the 12 official contestants called housemates will be officially introduced. On August 22, the show proper starts and will go on for 100 days. You can follow the lives of the 12 housemates daily while they perform various tasks and challenges that will show their true colors as they live together without the benefit of TV, books, radio magazine, watches, phones, and without any contact with the outside world. Whoever survives the ordeal after 100 days of being marooned inside the house will win P1 million cash, a brand new Nissan Frontier Titanium and a house and lot in St. MoniqueVillas.
"I will try to do everything to make the show even more interesting for the viewers," says Toni.
"I am willing to give my life just to make sure I'd be good as a host," says Mariel, who considers this her biggest break so far. She has given up hosting "Breakfast"for this but continues to appear with Aga Muhlach in "OK Fine."
If you'd notice, both Toni and Mariel come from GMA-7. Toni hosted "Eat Bulaga" while Mariel hosted "Extra Challenge." "It's just coincidental," says Lauren Dyogi, one of the show's project heads along with Linggit Tan. "The important thing is that they're both excellent hosts who will be great assets to the show which is our teleserye ng totoong buhay."