ICHARD Gutierrez is turning a year older on Monday (along with twin brother Raymond) and they have a special birthday celebration in “SOP” this Sunday, and Raymond also in “Showbiz Central.”

Richard is now busy promoting his Valentine movie with Marian Rivera, “My Best Friend's Girlfriend” (BFGF), but talks say that he's now really playing beautiful music with Jewel Mische, one of his leading ladies in the hit telefantasya, “Kamandag.”

It's said even their co-stars have noticed how close they are to each other when they're taping “Kamandag.” “Pag hindi sila ang kinukunan, laging sila ang magkatabi at nag-uusap nang masinsinan,” says our informer. “When Richard had a kissing scene with Maxene Magalona, nan-dun si Jewel sa gilid ng set at nagbantay. Nagselos yata. After the taping, usually, sila rin ang magkasamang umaalis to eat out. Mukhang sila na nga talaga.”

“Friendly naman ako to all my leading ladies,” says Richard. “In the same way that Marian and I became close friends while shooting ‘BFGF'. I want to have a good-working relationship with everyone.”

Richard as Vergel finally gets to face his nemesis, Mark Anthony Fernandez who's now known as the villainous Talim, in “Kamandag.” They figure an intense fight with each other and when Mark is about to defeat Richard, guess who comes along to defend him. Who else but Jewel who plays the role Jenny? In all fairness, it's easy to see that Richard and Jewel have great on-screen chemistry.

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NADINE NEXT TO GET PREGNANT?

NADINE Samonte will now be seen in both afternoon and primetime soaps. In GMA7's Dramarama sa Hapon, she is in “Ma-ging Akin Ka Lamang,” replacing the pregnant Jennylyn Mercado. In GMA Telebabad in primetime, she continues to play Ino-cencia in “Marimar.”

“Nakakapagod mag-taping for two soaps but I'm enjoying it,” she says. “For a while, worried ako sa schedule ko but my handler was able to fix everything so there'll be no conflicts sa tapings ko.”

She and Jen are both from “StarStruck 1”. How does she feel about her getting preggy? “I'm praying maging healthy sila ng baby niya. We've talked and I volunteered na maging ninang ng baby. We've worked together in ‘Super Twins' as sisters so I wish her only the best. Sabi noon, magkakaroon daw ng Book 2 ang ‘Super Twins' dahil hit ito, but with her condition now, hindi na siguro ito matutuloy.”

Come to think of it, three of her co-stars in “Super Twins” got preggy: Tanya Garcia, Camille Prats, and now, Jen. Will she be the next one? “Ay, hindi po. It comes in threes daw. Tatlo na sila, so stop na roon. Sayang ang trabaho ko, ‘no?”

“Maging Akin Ka Lamang” is her second Sine Novela after “Kung Mahawi Man ang Ulap” that rated high. She's paired for the first time with Polo Ravales.

“We have a good working relationship. We play husband and wife, so meron kaming romantic scenes. Okay naman siya, a real gentleman. Hindi na naman bago sa akin ito as I also had such scenes before with Dennis Trillo in ‘Kung Mahawi'.”

Her role was originally played in the movie by Dina Bonnevie, who people say look like her. “Magaling na aktres si Ms. D so I'm doing my best para hindi naman ako mapahiya.”

Her fans are now e-mailing writers and editors to urge GMA management to let her play “Dyesebel.” How does she feel about this? “I want to thank all those who say na bagay sa akin mag-Dyesebel. Honestly, even as a child, it's my dream to play the role of a mermaid. But the decision remains with GMA. As for me, I'm just happy I now have ‘Marimar' and ‘Maging Akin Ka Lamang'. I'll focus muna all my attention on my roles in these shows at saka ko na iisipin ang Dyesebel kapag napunta nga sa akin ang project.”

Still about “Maging Akin Ka Lamang,” we heard that Polo came late to the set one day and made Isabel Oli (who plays a woman obsessed with him) wait for many hours. Because of this, Isabel's boyfriend, Paolo Contis, reportedly got mad and confronted Polo on the set of “La Vendetta” where they used to work together. “Huwag mo na uli paghihintayin ang girlfriend ko, huh,” Paolo reportedly said. “Tingnan mo lang!”

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AIKO: I'M NOT STUPID TO DO DEGRADING THINGS

AIKO Melendez is wondering where all the stories linking her to other men are coming from. “Nagugulat talaga ako dahil may bago na raw akong boyfriend,” she says. “Nakita pa raw akong nakikipaghalikan sa isang bar. It's so degrading. Para bang napaka-cheap ko naman. I'm a public official and I have a reputation to protect. I'm not stupid naman to behave like that in public at baka isipin ng constituents kong nagwawala ako.”

She says she's not ready yet to commit to another relationship. “My second marriage just ended in separation. Natural lang na mas maging maingat ako ngayon. Dapat dahan-dahan lang as I don't want to make another mistake. Kaya lahat ng tsismis na nagli-link sa akin sa ganito o ganung lalaki, all I can say is hindi totoo ‘yun. My priorities now are only my kids and my constituents.”

In the hit game show, “1 Vs. 100”, Aiko will be the main player this Saturday. “The moment I got their invitation to play in the show, kinabahan na talaga ako. Nakakanerbiyos naman talaga sumali sa ganung klase ng show, di ba? But I'm glad very supportive sa'kin ang host na si Edu Manzano. Nagpapatawa siya so nababawasan ang tension ko. Nag-brush talaga ako tungkol sa iba't ibang fields kasi general information naman ang tinatanong sa show.”

Is she hoping to take home the jackpot prize of P2 million like Pooh and Jay Contreras? “ Sana . I'm praying na makuha ko nga as I'll give most of it to charity, lalo na sa needy constituents ko. Basta I will do my best para hindi naman ako mapahiya so don't fail to watch ‘1 vs. 100' this Saturday.”

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VOLTA COMES BACK FROM RETIREMENT

AFTER playing a supporting role in “Princess Sarah”, Ai Ai de las Alas is now back playing the title role in “Volta”, a combination of two of her past films (“Volta” and “Tanging Ina”) as Volta is now a mother to Salty (Dino Imperial) and Pepper (Mariel Pamintuan), with Jayson Gainza as her husband. How come they decided to a TV version of “Volta”?

“Kasi everytime the movie ‘Volta' is shown on TV, laging mataas ang rating,” explains Director Wenn Deramas. “So our boss, Ms. Charo Santos Concio, told me na gawin na ito sa TV, just like the movie of ‘Kokey' na laging mataas ang rating when shown on TV. Pero siyempre, mas pinaganda namin ang TV version sa story and special effects.

"Ai AI" as Perla has retired from being a superhero and live a normal life with her family. Kaso, a family of alien invaders come to our planet and threaten their whole town kaya she is forced to make a comeback as Volta, without her knowing that her two kids pala also have superpowers of their own.

"Ang alien family naman is composed of Carlos Morales as the daddy, Incredible Hunk; Jackielou Blanco as the mommy, Black Hola; and their two kids, Jessie Mendiola as Chappy Girl who can chop-chop all her body parts and Quintin Alianza as Ice Ice Baby who can freeze anything. Sila ang makakalaban ni Volta and her family, kaya magiging pamilya versus pamilya ang labanan. Also in the cast are Eugene Domingo as Volta's best friend, Chokoleit as Volta 's loyal sidekick and DJ Durano as the best friend of Jayson Gainza." “ Volta ” starts airing on January 26, Saturday, on ABS-CBN, before “1 vs. 100.”

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