Judy Ann perks up late afternoons with Bet On Your Baby

MANILA, Philippines - Initially hesitant to host a game show, Judy Ann Santos was able to successfully deliver when she agreed to do Bet On Your Baby, which recently started its second season on ABS-CBN. What started as a weekly game show now airs daily, Mondays to Fridays at 5 p.m.

Soaps have taken a backseat to Judy Ann’s TV assignments lately. After her late-night soap series, Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala (with KC Concepcion and Sam Milby) prematurely ended, Judy Ann took a break from doing drama. Today, aside from Bet On Your Baby, she hosts the reality show, I Do, which features couples who are about to tie the knot. I Do airs on weekends, Saturday and Sunday nights, also on ABS-CBN.

Judy Ann accepts shows that are right up her sleeves. She perks up the late-afternoon slot with Bet On Your Baby. The show is a challenge for her. The fact that she is raising a toddler explains why she can easily relate to the parents.

She does not only interview the parents, she also shares with them amusing personal anecdotes or stories about her son Lucho or her husband, Ryan Agoncillo. She also has an elder daughter, Yohan. Three years ago, Judy Ann hosted the cooking competition, Junior Masterchef, with grade school kids as participants. And, as most everyone knows, Judy Ann is a good cook.

The first season of Bet On Your Baby featured celebrity moms or couples and their toddlers. Viewers saw for the first time Ai-Ai de las Alas and her son baby Seth, Benjie Paras and wife Lyxen with son Sam, Anthony Taberna and wife Rossel with daughter Helga, beauty queen Nina Ricci Alagao and husband Michael Flores with son Pablo; Niño Muhlach and wife Abby Tupas with their son Alonzo, Petron Blaze Boosters cager Arwind Santos and wife Ivette with baby Iona, It’s Showtime host Teddy Corpuz and wife Jasmine with son Theodore John and San Miguel Beermen cager Doug Kramer and wife Cheska Garcia with baby Scarlett.

The new season features ordinary couples and their babies, who are two to four years old. The game show displays the strong bond between parents and their babies when they get to do the challenge that will make them win money.

The program starts with the upbeat Ang Galing ni Baby dance jingle, which shows Judy Ann swiftly gliding on the dance floor. Reportedly, she is the only host around the world who dances the jingle. The catchy song is being danced even by babies these days, proof of the show’s huge popularity.

Three couples with their kids play respective challenges in the initial round. One parent accompanies the kid inside the Baby Dome, while the other parent outside bets if the kid can actually do the challenge or not.

The Puzzle Round has been dropped for the second season. Instead, Whatcha Makulit is introduced. Judy Ann enters the Baby Dome and chats with the toddlers. Outside, the parents attempt to guess what their babies are talking about. The parent who guesses correctly will get to play in the jackpot round.

Jackpot Friday starts with the winning parents playing Dice, Dice Baby with their kids. The kids roll the dice with numbers on a slide and the parent advances in the course. The first two parents who finish first get to play Whatcha Makulit. Whoever guesses right gets to play in the weekly jackpot round.

There are more piggy banks to smash in the jackpot round — total of 15. The piggy banks contain prizes that range from P25,000 to as high as P200,000. Then there are showcases for gadgets, computer, bedroom, kitchen, dining room, negosyo and trip to Hong Kong Disneyland. The major prize is P1M.

If luck is on the family’s side, then they might just smash the lucky piggy bank and take home the P1M.