The Dawn Zulueta who met the press recently didn’t look like the plain housewife she has turned to be four years after marrying Anton Lagdameo of the prominent Davao clan.
Daily gym workouts have kept the curves in the proper places. Her early-to-rise-early-to-bed lifestyle, the kind she has adopted in Davao, required some adjustments at first.
But Dawn soon learned the laidback ways of her husband’s place. And loved it.
Look ma, no traffic, no rushing here and there! There’s lots of time, not just for quick hellos, but for long, leisurely conversations while sipping a tall glass of fresh fruit juice. What harried Manilan wouldn’t exchange places with Dawn?
No wonder she turned down an offer to star in the GMA drama series Larawan. Most stars would have jumped at the chance to headline a challenging project, but not Dawn. She was happy getting up at 7 a.m., sharing dinner with her businessman-husband and going to bed at 10 p.m.
Save for a guesting stint at Eezy Dancing last August, Dawn made herself scarce on TV. After all, there was so much to keep her hands full with.
Her soap-manufacturing venture is keeping her busy, especially now that the Christmas season is coming and Dawn expects orders to come pouring in.
She’s also into aromatherapy oil, which, like her soap brand, is interestingly called – what else – Splendor of Dawn.
Little did she know that one day, her predictable world would take an unexpected turn. ABC-5 VP for Local Production Vivian Recio, a long-time friend, took a gamble and called Dawn up.
"It was a long shot," Recio admits. "But Dawn had the qualities of a good host (for the Philippine version of the widely-followed The Price Is Right). She had wit."
That wit was last seen on the late-night Sunday show RSVP, which Dawn hosted in 1994.
Was Recio glad she took a fat chance. After consulting with Anton, who figured he’d still be seeing his wife everyday – tapings being only twice a week – Dawn gave her all-important yes.
"Anton agreed because the show (The Price Is Right) is basically non-showbiz," Dawn explains.
And so it is, that after four years of bidding showbiz goodbye, Dawn is back in her career element, stepping into the shoes of her idol and American counterpart, Bob Barker, host of The Price Is Right, US version.
Recio is hardly fazed at the fact that the ABC-5 version is handled by a female host, a radical departure from Barker’s US show.
"Shopping in the Philippines is a female activity," Recio reasons out. And so she figures a lot of viewers can identify with the glamorous Dawn urging her guests to "Come on down!" every Sunday, 7 to 8 p.m., starting Nov. 25.
Aside from still being able to do things for her husband – like cook his favorite Chinese dish – Dawn agreed to come out of her showbiz hibernation because The Price Is Right has been regular viewing fare at home.
"We’d huddle in front of the TV and watch Bob Barker," she recalls, adding impishly, "Now, that reveals a lot about my age!"
For those who weren’t born yet when the show was dominating the airwaves (read: the MTV generation), here’s how one plays The Price Is Right. The game has six categories. Players are required to guess the price of a certain item. The local version, however, has 24 categories, 18 more than its US counterpart. The contestant who guesses the price of the items correctly the most number of times, wins.
For Dawn to give up part of the privacy she enjoys so much in Davao, and return to a medium raring to take her back, The Price Is Right must be well worth the effort, and the viewers’ precious Sunday family time, too.