PBB Double Up

Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up is the third regular season of Pinoy Big Brother, which began on October 4, 2009 on ABS-CBN. Toni Gonzaga, Mariel Rodriguez, andBianca Gonzalez reprise their hosting duties this season.

There were two sets of auditions for this season. The first set of auditions were held in late 2007 in several key cities in the Philippines, as well as the cities of Madrid, Milan, and Dubai. Those auditions also produced the housemates for Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition Plus. The second set of auditions for this season, as well as for the third Teen Edition, were held in several key cities in the Philippines and the cities of Tokyo and San Francisco. This brought the number of auditioners to 57,824. From those two sets of auditions, it was reported that fifty people were chosen for shortlist. A total of twenty-six housemates have entered the House, fourteen on Day 1 and ten on Day 7. Two more housemates entered on Day 43.

The winner of the new season would receive an LCD TV set, an Asian tour package, a business package, a house and lot, and PHP 1 million in cash. The winner would also donate another PHP 1 million to a charity of their choice, making Double Up the first non-celebrity season to do so.

This season also marks the return of Pinoy Big Brother UpLate, after being replaced by Pinoy Big Brother Über in the second Celebrity Edition and Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition Plus. Mariel would continue to host Über while Bianca would take the helm for UpLate. Episodes from the previous week are also recapped through a weekend program on Studio 23 entitled Pinoy Big Brother: Primetime Weekends on 23 and delayed, but unedited late morning/early afternoon feed through Pinoy Big Brother: Raw on Studio 23.

Melai is being pitted against comedienne Pokwang!

Melai is being pitted against comedienne Pokwang

With her great timing and spontaneous comic wit that takes a chunk of PBB Double Up’s airtime, it is no wonder that Melai has already been considered a threat to existing comedians in the industry. Known as the pride of GenSan, Melisa Cantiveros has effortlessly brought laughter to many households, simply by being herself.

Pokwang, one of the country’s top comediennes, was recently awarded the Balance Award by Working Mom magazine for being able to overcome the tragedy of losing a child. Instead of being pulled down by grief, she chose to take it as a challenge to push her higher. She turned an unfortunate event into an inspiration to be a better mother to her other child and a better artist as well.

With the same outlook, Pokwang shrugs off issues that aim to pit her against the resident comedienne of PBB Double Up. Another funny woman in the industry would indeed be a challenge, but only to urge her to excel in her craft. In fact, Pokwang points out that when Melai finally steps out of the PBB house, she would be a Kapamilya. For Pokwang, family would always be an inspiration, never a threat.

Log on to www.ABS-CBN.com or http://pinoybigbrother.multiply.com for more updates on Pinoy Big Brother Double Up.