Dingdong Dantes enjoying fatherhood, married life

Dingdong Dantes is relishing the joys of fatherhood. “(My wife) Marian (Rivera) and I are so happy,” beams Dong, “that Zia has finally experienced the gift of God’s grace during her christening.”

Even if he is already a father, Dong does not forget his husband duties. “Yan and I go out on dates every other week,” he says. “The rest of our time is devoted to our baby. She sleeps on our bed, and we enjoy bathing her every morning.”

For sure, their little princess will soon be swamped with offers to do TV commercials. According to Dong, they will allow her to appear in TVCs when she’s big enough. For now, the spotlight is on Zia in their home.

Princess is back

Princess Punzalan had a blast shooting with Kim Chiu and Xian Lim in New York for ABS-CBN’s new teleserye, “The Story of Us.”

Even though she savors her real-life roles as a wife to Jay and mom to Ellie in California, Cess can never turn her back on acting completely.

Cess shares her KimXi story with the Inquirer:

“Xian is like a growing boy who’s always hungry. He’s happy when fans bring food to the set. He is very proper. He asks permission from everyone before he leaves. I can see how he takes his craft seriously. Kim is very sweet, always smiling and joking around. Very respectful, too.

“It was extremely cold when they shot in Central Park from morning till night. They were shivering. Xian and Kim seem to be very good buddies. I didn’t see anything to make me think that there’s already something between them.”

COSTARS, from left: Princess Punzalan, Kim Chiu, Xian Lim

Dreamy Derrick

Derrick Monasterio and Bea Binene team up in GMA 7’s new afternoon soap, “Hanggang Makita Kang Muli” (weekdays after “Wish I May”).

Bea portrays Ana, a feral girl, who is isolated from human contact and grows up with traits of an animal. Derrick plays a psychology student who will be Ana’s knight in shining armor.

Here’s my chat with Derrick:

What do you find hard to understand about girls?

Being fickle, their “sometimes I like you, sometimes I don’t” kind of mood.

Have you ever been turned down by a girl?

A lot of times. The important thing about rejection is that I learned something from it, and it made me correct my mistakes.

What can the audience expect from your tandem with Bea?

There will be more giddy moments aside from the intense drama scenes.

Would you fall for an older woman?

Thirty years old and below, definitely yes! Older women have more maturity and experience, so it’ll be easy for them to handle any type of guy.

What do you think of girls who make the first move?

I don’t mind. I’m honestly turned on when a girl makes the first move because, in my mind, I’m like “Whoa, this girl is really confident—she knows what she wants.”

If you could be a famous woman for a month, who would it be?

I would like to be Ellen DeGeneres. That is the closest I could be to being a man who’s cool and at the same time be in a woman’s body.

Is Bea girlfriend or “BFF” material?

Definitely girlfriend material. She’s generous, lovable and a good adviser.

Acting workshop

Aspiring actors and directors, hear ye! Hear ye! The Brillante Ma. Mendoza Film Workshop on acting and directing is scheduled from March 28 to April 3. (Call Tony/Christine 531-9831 or 0927 817-7661.) Lights, camera, study!

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Thanks to my loyal readers, Jun and Cecille Arenillo.