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Nothing is off limits to writer and showbiz authority Ricky Lo, who has made it his goal to talk about the unseen side of showbiz, whether it be good or bad...
Showbiz Stripped is GMA's late night showbiz show that aims to delve into showbiz's deepest, darkest secrets. Nothing is off limits to writer and showbiz authority Ricky Lo, who has made it his goal to talk about the unseen side of showbiz, whether it be good or bad, happy or sad. What's important is that he satisfies the public's right to know about stars both favorite and forgotten. Text by Yvette U. Tan.
We had the good fortune of sitting down with the esteemed columnist and finding out what has kept audiences glued to
Showbiz Stripped every Saturday night.
iGMA: What do you enjoy most about working on
Showbiz Stripped?
Ricky Lo: Aside from talking to the stars, it's discovering that TV is an exciting form of journalism. It's very visual. In print, you can do your article in your shorts. On TV, you have to dress up, you have to look good, you have to sound good. You think of so many things, aside from just delivering the news. That's what makes it very exciting.
iGMA: Do you enjoy hosting a TV show more than writing?
Ricky Lo: I enjoy writing more than TV because print is my line. I can do it with my eyes closed. I'm not yet so comfortable with TV. I'm learning how to go with the flow.
iGMA: How do you find your stories for
Showbiz Stripped?
Ricky Lo: It's the staff that comes up with the concept, though I do give them suggestions. 90% of the conceptualization comes from the staff. They're very resourceful, very imaginative.
iGMA: What's been your favorite episode?
Ricky Lo: There's the one on the bold stars of the 60's, 70's and what has happened to them. Most of them are leading miserable lives. Some of them have found God. They're so bitter about life but they're moving on. Some of them look back to their glory days with nostalgia, but not with bitterness. That's the good thing about it. Life goes on and they are moving on in spite of the troubles in their lives.
iGMA: What can the audience look forward to in succeeding episodes?
Ricky Lo: There's our part of four-episode anniversary package. It's an episode about the misfortunes in showbiz and about destiny. Our resource persons are stars who have gone through trials just like Darius Razon, whose children died within a year of each other. His only two children died tragically. One was killed in a fire and one recently was killed in a car
accident. The other guest is Vandolph and he will talk about his being accident-prone. He was in a coma for one month after an accident in Baguio four years ago. Three years after that, his car fell into a ditch, and he survived these two accidents. Angel Locsin also survived the death of her boyfriend and her father went blind and she survived that also. And also Jackie Forster, who survived a bad marriage and the tragedy that met the birth of her son three weeks ago who contacted pneumonia and who had to stay in an incubator for seven days, but she's okay now. She's surviving the ordeals in her personal and professional life. It's something to look forward to.
iGMA: What topics would you want to feature in future episodes?
Ricky Lo: Actually, we have so many ideas, mostly positive. The thrust of the show is not confrontational. It's mostly bringing out the positive side of the stars. We're going to talk about issues that don't pit them against each other. They are given the chance to air their side in a style that doesn't bring out the bad side them. It's more on the positive side of the stars. I have so many ideas about stars in business, stars committed to God, stars who have been there for forty years and what their secret of durability is. We have so many topics in mind.
iGMA: Any last words for your fans?
Ricky Lo: I hope they go on watching
Showbiz Stripped. It's an alternative kind of showiz show. It's not a talk show. It's more of a showbiz docu. It shows the good side of showbiz.
You can keep abreast of these exciting future episodes by watching
Showbiz Stripped, every Saturday on GMA.
