Janine Gutierrez, Zanjoe Marudo on how their ‘Dirty Linen’ characters turned bashers into supporters

Scene from “Dirty Linen”

Dirty Linen” lead actors Janine Gutierrez and Zanjoe Marudo both said they were constantly keeping an eye on the comments that the drama-revenge series has been receiving and were glad to note that a lot of them compliment the show and that people are sad because it is about to end.

“Dirty Linen,” a production of Dreamscape Entertainment for ABS-CBN, premiered in January and will air its final episode on Aug. 25.

“In the beginning, we noticed that people were quick to comment negatively, even though they hadn’t seen the entire show yet. These days, we’re happy to see posts saying, ‘Grabe! Walang tapon!’ or ‘Bakit matatapos na ito?’ The audience seemed to have had their own idea about where the story should go in the beginning. This was why they didn’t like what they saw. This was a good thing because it meant people found the show engaging, and so they stayed. And then, whenever the show came up with interesting twists, they became more interested,” said Zanjoe in a recent interview with Inquirer Entertainment.

“Our producers took a great risk here. To present the stories of only six characters in a teleserye is already difficult. Imagine the work put into this show that has over 20 characters. We were nervous about this at the start, but our audience opted to stick with us until the end. You can tell this with their comments. It’s no longer about our portrayals anymore, but already about the series as a whole. Now that we’re nearing the show’s end, we only get to read positive comments. This makes all of us proud,” Zanjoe pointed out.

Engaging show

Janine has a similar observation. “Doesn’t it feel good when you have a basher at the start of the show who ends up liking you? There’s this one comment that really made me laugh. ‘Shucks! Ang ganda ni Janine. Dati maarte lang siya, ngayon magaling na siya umarte!’” she recalled.

“I agree with Z (Zanjoe’s nickname) when he said that lately, a lot of people are saying, ‘’Wag n’yo munang tapusin’ or ‘Ito talaga ’yong hinihintay namin bago matulog sa gabi.’ That’s what we’re most thankful for… that the whole series was able to affect the audience this way,” Janine added.

In “Dirty Linen,” four houseworkers of a wealthy, aristocratic family mysteriously vanish without a trace. Years later, four of their family members decide to get revenge against the prominent family. To do this, they infiltrate the household under different identities in order to expose the Fieros’ dirty secrets. However, an encounter with the family’s eldest son, Aidan (played by Zanjoe), in the past will lead to obstacles getting in the way of the revenge plot.

Zanjoe Marudo

In the latest episode, Sophie Madrigales (Elisse Joson), Aidan’s ex-girlfriend, felt so frustrated because of her failed attempt to seduce Aidan. This prompted her to say this about Mila (played by Janine), Aidan’s estranged wife: “Mila’s lust for revenge is much bigger than her love for Aidan.”

We then asked Janine whether the statement actually sums up Mila’s relationship with Aidan. To this, she said: “The biggest challenge for her was that she truly loved Aidan. In a perfect world, she would try to distance Aidan and his sister Chiara (Francine Diaz) from the sins of their family. Also, in spite of his love for Mila, Aidan would still choose to protect his family. That was also what started everything for her—she decided to take revenge because of her family. That’s the painful aspect of Mila and Aidan’s relationship.”

Pitiful character

In Zanjoe’s eyes, meanwhile, Aidan is such a pitiful character. “Since he witnessed what really happened to the four househelpers at the beginning, Aidan was never the same. He grew up confused. He allowed his parents to control his life,” he began.

“When he finally met Mila and fell in love with her, he thought he could have a clean slate, that he could escape his family, the Fieros. What hurt him the most was that he gave so much of himself to the relationship, even turning his back on his own family and his responsibilities to their company, only to find out that Mila lied to him,” the actor said.

However, Zanjoe said what’s best about Aidan was that he is not someone who is quick to judge. “Despite the things that happened to him, he still tries to find an explanation for everything. He is now asking himself what forced Mila to lie to him. Whatever Aidan will discover in the coming episodes, I promise, will make the audience more engaged.”

Janine Gutierrez during the interview with Inquirer Entertainment

Incidentally, Zanjoe and Janine will be flying to the United States for a fancon/thanksgiving show in Sacramento, California, on Aug. 26. They will be joined by costars Francine Diaz, Seth Fedelin, John Arcilla, Tessie Tomas and singer Jed Madela.

“I’m excited that we will be able to meet our kababayans there, especially those who supported ‘Dirty Linen’ from the start. I’m also happy that we will get to end the show this way, with us thanking people for their support,” said Zanjoe.

“Dirty Linen” airs weekdays at 9:20 p.m. on the Kapamilya channel, A2Z and TV5. INQ.