entertainment, Philippines, reality show, television

Pinoy Big Brother Needs Fill-In Hosts Amid Toni and Mariel Pregnancy Leave

Toni Gonzaga-Soriano and Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla are both pregnant.

Both are expected to take a maternity leave, and as a result, they have no choice but relinquish their hosting duties on ‘Pinoy Big Brother’: Lucky 7. That said, ABS-CBN must figure out a way to spread the hosting workload for the reality show while Toni and Mariel are tending to their soon-to-be offspring.

With the two out of the picture, only Robi Domingo and Bianca Gonzalez-Intal are left to shoulder the burden. So where will ABS-CBN go at this point?

They could consider Toni’s sister Alex Gonzaga to fill in for her. After all, she had hosting experience of her own, having hosted ‘ASAP’ on a regular basis, and more recently played the same role on season 2 of ‘The Voice Kids’.

They could also use Billy Crawford as well, whose prior hosting experience may be an asset. Or they may consider Anne Curtis, whose only hosting job at this point is on ‘It’s Showtime’.

Overall, ABS-CBN has a vast reservoir of talents who can also be capable host. But it will be up to them to decide on who will fill in for both Toni and Mariel.

Meanwhile, ‘Pinoy Big Brother’: Lucky 7 introduced a new set of teen housemates shortly after returning to Manila earlier this week. They are:

  • Maymay Entrata
  • Rita Gabiola
  • Kisses Delavin
  • Edward Barber
  • Aizan Perez
  • Vivoree Esclito
  • Marco Gallo
  • Christian Morones
  • Fenech Velloso
  • Yong Mujahil
  • Kristine Hammond
  • Heaven Peralejo

The 12 teen housemates join the ‘Lucky 2 Stars’ Jinri Park and Hashtags McCoy de Leon and Nikko Natividad inside the refurbished Big Brother house in Quezon City. Over time, however, some of the teen housemates will either be evicted or leave for personal reasons to make way for the regular ones, which will be announced soon.

‘Pinoy Big Brother’ season 7 currently airs weeknights after ‘Born for You’, Saturdays after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, and Sundays after ‘Rated K’ on ABS-CBN. An afternoon edition also airs weekdays after ‘Tubig at Langis’, except for select regional areas.

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entertainment, Philippines, reality show, television

PBB Goes Vietnam

Season 7 of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ will be a little different this time.

For the first time ever, ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ will not be held in the Philippines. Instead, the seventh season (dubbed as ‘Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7’) will take place in Vietnam, at least for the first few weeks (unless plans change later on).

While the season premiere will take place this Monday, preparations for PBB: Lucky 7 were already in full swing in the week leading up to it. In fact, nine celebrity housemates were revealed during this stretch, which are the following:

  • Nikko Natividad, Hashtag Boy Sipag ng Bulacan (revealed on ‘It’s Showtime’ July 2)
  • McCoy de Leon, Hashtag Boy Tatag ng Tondo (revealed on ‘It’s Showtime’ July 2)
  • JK Labajo, Ang Cute-Kiti ng Cebu (revealed on ‘ASAP’ July 3)
  • Yassi Pressman, Ang Dance Floor Dream Girl ng Antipolo (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 4)
  • Jinri Park, Ang K-Hot Cover Girl ng South Korea (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 4)
  • Hideo Muraoka, Ang Hunky Daddy ng Taguig (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 6)
  • Nonong Ballinan, Ang Kanto Komikero ng Quezon City (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 6)
  • Elisse Joson, Ang Hugot Babe ng Mandaluyong (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 6)
  • DJ Chacha, Ang Bibig ng Pag-ibig ng Tondo (revealed on ‘TV Patrol’ July 6)

All nine housemates were flown to Vietnam (though three of them were initially denied passage by the Bureau of Immigration) where they will live inside the house that was used on ‘Big Brother Vietnam’ (‘Người giấu mặt’). To abide with the show’s ‘house rules’, they were covered with black bonnets so that they will not be recognized by the public, and to not learn of their destination.

Upon entering the Big Brother house in Vietnam, housemates were given various tasks by Big Brother himself. In the meantime, their progress was followed on PBB’s social media pages, leading up to the season premiere this Monday night.

‘Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7’ will be hosted by Robi Domingo, Toni Gonzaga-Soriano, Bianca Gonzalez-Intal, and Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla. Both Toni and Mariel are pregnant during the season, and are expected to take a maternity leave as the season continues.

The first few weeks of ‘Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7’ will have celebrities as the main attraction. But as the season continues, expect more housemates, this time of the teen and regular variety, to be revealed soon.

The seventh season of ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ airs weeknights after ‘Born for You’, Saturdays after ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’, and Sundays after ‘Rated K’ on ABS-CBN.

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