DINGDONG FEELS BAD ABOUT RECENT CHANGES IN GMA

THE underwater adventure, “Atlantika”, is ending next month. “It’s supposed to run for only three months but we were extended up to five months dahil maganda ang reception ng viewers,” says lead actor Dingdong Dantes. “As the conclusion comes near, every episode is packed with more surprises and big action scenes as I try to fight the plans of the evil Barracud (Ariel Rivera) to make Atlantika float and conquer the world of mortals. ‘Atlantika’ is my toughest show as it’s physically draining because of the action scenes na underwater pa.” The final weeks will show if Dingdong as Aquano would succeed in his mission to thwart Barracud or if he’d choose his love for Amaya over his duty. Barracud also faces competiton from Celeste (Jean Garcia), the villainous twin sister of Queen Celebes who also wants to conquer Atlantika. She has the power to read minds and finds out who’ll help Aquano carry out his mission. Celebes, in turn, succeeds in reviving the former king, Agat (Gardo Versoza), and finds out he has a missing son. Is this Aquano or Piranus (Paolo Contis)? The show really gets more exciting so don’t miss it every night. So what’s Dingdong’s next project after “Atlantika”? “GMA has new plans but I’m not at liberty to reveal them yet. I’m hoping after two costume-fantasies, ‘Encantadia’ and ‘Atlantika’, they’ll give me a straight drama naman for a change. “But right now, I’m still hosting ‘SOP’ and ‘Starstruck’.” How does he feel now that some co-stars in “SOP” have been taken out of the show? “Siyempre, I feel bad, like KC (Montero), kasi eight years na kaming magkasama sa show. Pero ganun talaga. We need to reformat to keep ‘SOP’ fresh and new.” Why is it that only the second and third batches of “Starstruck” did not become as successful as the first batch? “Probably because sobra ang expectations sa kanila. “Iba kasi ang original. But I’m confident the new batch of ‘Starstruck The Next Level’ will be as big as the batch of Mark and Jennylyn, especially among the girls na marami talagang stunning and talented.” How’s Karylle? “She’s busy writing her own songs for her new album. Lagi pa rin kami magkasama sa ‘SOP’. Natatawa na lang kami when we hear na hindi na raw kami.”