Tessie Tomas on Dirty Linen: ‘It’s really notches above an ordinary teleserye’

Veteran actress Tessie Tomas described ABS-CBN’s Dirty Linen as a blessing to her and all cast members. After a seven-month run, the revenge-themed primetime series under Dreamscape Entertainment is coming to an end tonight.

The US-based Tessie who plays Doña Cielo, the tyrannical matriarch of the controversial and filthy rich Fiero family, said in an interview with The STAR that “sa amin lahat, ang laki talaga ng blessing Dirty Linen,” adding that she would always encounter people calling out to her, “Doña Cielo, Doña Cielo, nanonood kami ng Dirty Linen.”

Aidan Fiero still wants to protect Mila despite her plans against his family.

With the production hinting at a gripping and intense story until its conclusion, Tessie considers the storyline (with all its twists and turns) as one of the biggest achievements of the show.

“It’s really several notches above an ordinary teleserye,” began Tessie. “Isa-isahin natin (achievements), you have the intensity of the plot and the complexity of the different characters and the issues involved. Talagang pinag-aralan ng mga writers.”

Alexa/Mila Salvacion (Janine Gutierrez) is out to get justice until the end.

For her, another achievement of the drama is the production design that she said reflected the hard work and money spent on it.

“Kasi ginawa lahat yun… even the chairs are velvet,” she said. Nothing is fake, including our food. Totoo lahat yan! Ang ganda ganda ng set design! Even my costumes are very expensive. So, it’s very, very opulent. So, hindi ka basta-basta nakakanood ng ganung teleserye. When you watch it, you know that pinaghirapan and pinagkagastahan.”

What also made her proud was the casting. “When it came to the cast, kumbaga halos handpicked and if I may say so, and sinasabi naman nila, lahat magaling. So, when you’re on the set, you have to be alert so you can match the performance of your co-actors.”

Co-stars Zanjoe Marudo and Janine Gutierrez, who play the star-crossed lovers Aidan Fiero and Alexa/Mila Salvacion, were also oozing with pride over the show.

“I’m proud na natapos namin ng maayos,” said Zanjoe.

He’s also proud of the fact that it’s not “typical” in the sense that it dared to go against the grain, and didn’t pander to what just audiences wanted nor rode on the trending themes.

“Dun ako naging proud na naging matapang ang Dreamscape and ABS-CBN… and I believe natuto ang audience and nagkaroon sila ng bagong mapapanood. Nababasa naman talaga natin sa mga comments yung mga pakiramdam nila.”

He believes Dirty Linen was able to show that a Philippine-made show can be at par with international productions.

“Pwede na tayong makipagsabayan. ‘Di na nila kailangan manoood ng mga Hollywood series para (ma-enjoy) yung ganong intensity ng mga scenes kasi may gumagawa na dito sa Pilipinas. Dun ako pinaka-proud,” he said.

As for Janine, she’s proudest of the boldness of the story and the cast “to show something that’s not just, ‘Ay kailangan mabait ako dito…’ Everybody was game to show the bad side, the good side, everyone was aligned. So I’m proud to be part of this. I’m really proud of the story,” she said.

She further noted how proud she was each time audiences were moved to tears by a scene or whenever they got affected by a character.

Janine narrated an anecdote about a friend who was so engrossed in the story that she was already having nightmares of Tessie’s character, Doña Cielo.

“Meron akong kaibigan na si Doña Cielo napanaginipan siyang hinahabol siya (laughs)! Ganung level na, ‘Binabangungot na ata ako dito sa Dirty Linen pero di ko mapigilan,’” Janine laughingly shared.

“So, I’m just so proud of its impact on people na pati sila nagulat, ‘Oh my god! Why can’t I stop watching Dirty Linen when I’m not really into these things or whatever.’ So, very grateful.”

The story of Dirty Linen started off with four house helpers of the powerful Fieros who disappeared mysteriously and were presumed dead. Years later, their family members would band together and find their way into the household under fake identities in hopes of exposing the Fieros’ dirty secrets and exacting vengeance.

Amid all the scheming and warring families, the “golden son” of the Fieros, Aidan, fell in love with Mila (who was really Alexa Salvacion, the daughter of his nanny Olivia, played by Dolly de Leon) only to discover later on that it was all part of the revenge plan. The last few days of the series showed that despite the impending downfall of the Fieros, Aidan was still concerned over the safety of Alexa. Which one will survive — their love story or their loyalty to their families?

The finale of Dirty Linen airs tonight at 9:30 on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z and TV5, as well as Kapamilya Online Live on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. It’s also available to viewers in and out of the Philippines on iWantTFC, while viewers outside of the Philippines can watch on The Filipino Channel (TFC) on cable and IPTV.

Dirty Linen stars will hold a thanksgiving show in the US at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California tomorrow, Aug. 26, and at the Arena Theater Houston, Texas on Aug. 27 for G! Kapamilya presents Dirty Linen sa America.

Asked what other roles and projects they hoped to take on after Dirty Linen, Tessie said, “I definitely want to go back to doing stand-up comedy if I can. Actually, I already had a concept, One Night with Doña Cielo, atbp.  What I  planned to do is bubulagain ko ang audience with the Doña Cielo excerpt then I’d transition to my other characters, then go back to Doña Cielo as my ending.

“I had everything worked out in my head but it’s not easy because I’m living abroad and it takes time. But, you know, there’s still a chance. It’s (stand-up comedy) my outlet. My inspiration now is how can I top the character of Doña Cielo? Paano ko mapo-prove sa fans na meron pang mas magaling kay Doña Cielo or meron pang mas kakaiba? So, that’s the challenge now for me.”

Zanjoe, on the other hand, is mulling a break from doing TV series, considering that Dirty Linen came immediately after another heavy-drama project, The Broken Marriage Vow.

“Yung next kong gagawin pwedeng light lang. Sana magkaroon ako ng magandang light project,” said the actor, who is starring in a Star Cinema film next.

Janine, on the other hand, said that there are still many dream roles and projects on her wish list. However, some priorities have changed. If before, she was aiming to land a role in an international film or drama, nowadays, it’s a different story.

She said, “I think it’s better to make a movie or series in the Philippines tapos yun nalang ipagmamalaki mo sa ibang bansa… that we can really show what Filipinos can do, what they’re capable of writing, what’s happening in the Philippines. It’s because with Dirty Linen, marami talaga tayong natanggap ng comment saying that it’s world-class. So, I think, it would be great to make a movie and series here that you can showcase to the world.”