RIA Atayde considers being one of the hosts of TV5’s new morning talk show, “Chika, BESH”, a real big break for her. Let’s face it, when she was with ABS-CBN, all she did was play supporting roles in soaps and she never hosted a show of her own.
“Kaya nga I felt so happy and thankful when I learned may offer sa’kin ang Archangel Media of Mike Tuviera for TV5,” she says. “But I didn’t grab the offer right away, kasi baka isiping kasasara lang ng ABS, lilipat na agad ako. But it was my handler mismo sa Star Magic who told me about the offer, so alam na nila about this.”
She also consulted her mom, Sylvia Sanchez, and dad, Art Atayde. “Yes, I also talked first to my parents and asked their opinion. Also our bosses sa ABS kung ano masasabi nila about it. They were all okay naman, very supportive pa nga, so sabi ko, blessing ito. It’s not everyone who’s given this kind of opportunity to have work like this in the midst of the pandemic, di ba?”
She also looked forward to having fun working with her co-hosts in “Chika, BESH”. “Yes, I welcome the idea of working with Tita Pokwang and Pauleen Luna as my co-hosts. At right now, they exceeded all my expectations. I’m enjoying their company and I’m really learning a lot from them.”
She admits hosting is something new to her. “I’m more into acting naman talaga. But I welcome the challenge, the experience of doing something new that I can explore. I must admit noong una, kabado ako. But when people see things in you that you don’t see in yourself, na sila pa ang mas nagtitiwala sa magagawa mo, then it sort of helps in boosting your own self confidence na, maybe I can do it. So now, step by step, I’m learning.”
She’s really doing her best to learn how to be a competent TV host. “I’m now more aware of the dynamics of interviewing our guests in ‘Chika, BESH’. Kasi may guide questions naman kami, but you should be relaxed and make it appear na hindi ka basta nagbabasa lang ng guide questions. Dapat, it will come out as natural, spontaneous, to make sure there is fluidity in the conversations. It helps a lot talaga na maganda ang bonding namin nina Tita Pokwang and Pauleen. Saluhan kami. We have good teamwork and we really hope mag-click ang show namin sa viewers as we’re doing everything to make sure each episode is fun and very entertaining for them.”
“Chika, BESH” is seen weekdays on TV5 at 10 AM, with replays later at the Colours Channel of Cignal TV. Ria is really fortunate because she has regular work whereas her Mommy Sylvia and her brother, Arjo, are currently not busy after the shutdown of ABS-CBN.
