PBB Lucky 7 reveals celebrity housemates

MANILA, Philippines - In an unprecedented opening for Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) this year, the popular and much-awaited reality competition will not be held in Manila. As early as July 5, the celebrity housemates this season were flown to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, where PBB Lucky 7 will be held.

The initial reveal of the celebrity housemates participating this season happened in It’s Showtime last July 2, with McCoy de Leon and Nikko Natividad. The two guys, who couldn’t conceal their excitement about their latest challenge, are members of the all-male group, Hashtags, a regular opening attraction in the network’s daily noontime fare, It’s Showtime.

Hashtags served as the successful launching pad of other PBB graduates such as last year’s PBB 737 teen winner, Ilocano native Hendrix “Jimboy” Martin, adult housemates Zeus Collins and Jameson Blake, as well as Teen Edition 4 housemate Tom Doromal from Davao City.

Last July 3, in the Sunday noontime show ASAP, The Voice Kids Season 1 finalist Juan Karlos Labajo was announced as the third housemate to join this year’s PBB Lucky 7. The following day, July 4, young actress Yassi Pressman and South Korean model and radio disc jockey Jinri Park were added to the batch.

Brazilian model Hideo Muraoka, comedian Nonong Ballinan, up-and-coming, young actress Elisse Joson and DJ Chacha complete the list of certified housemates this season.

Unlike in the previous years when the housemates were officially introduced on the actual start of the season, the celebrity housemates this year were allowed to meet and interact with each other days before the start of the reality show.

In his Twitter account, ABS-CBN executive in charge of PBB Lauren Dyogi revealed it will be the first time this season to do this different kind of adventure, that is, flying all the housemates out of Manila and staging the reality show out of the country.

As early as May this year, PBB auditions were held initially at the PBB Covered Court across ABS-CBN in Quezon City and also at the Harbour Point Mall in Olongapo City. Succeeding auditions in Luzon took place in Batangas City and Pangasinan (Calasiao), while Visayas auditions were held in Bohol (Tagbilaran) and Albay (Legazpi).

There were also hopefuls who tried it out in Mindanao (Cagayan de Oro City, General Santos City and Zamboanga City), as well as in Milan, Italy and North Yorkshire, United Kingdom.

After the celebrity housemates, regular housemates will follow suit, just like what happened last year when two batches of housemates were introduced to the public. Teen housemates were followed by adult ones. Two big winners were pronounced to mark the 10th anniversary of PBB last year. Jimboy was the teen big winner, while PBB regular housemate champion was single mom Miho Nishida.

PBB Lucky 7 will see the reunion of original hosts, Toni Gonzaga-Soriano, Bianca Gonzalez-Intal and Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla. Bianca and Mariel were both PBB housemates in the past. Robi Domingo will join the ladies triumvirate as returning host this season.