Iya: Drew excited for me in competing show

Iya Villania is one of the newest hosts of ABS-CBN's reformatted early morning show, “Umagang Kay Ganda.” But how does her boyfriend Drew Arellano feel?

Drew is a longtime host of “Umagang Kay Ganda’s” rival morning show on GMA-7, “Unang Hirit.”

"He was excited for me. Kasi my first day in college was his first day in ‘Unang Hirit’ and he's still there. Of course what's keeping him there is the fact that he may be under contract but there's obviously joy in what he's doing so na-excite siya for me to experience that also. At saka gusto niya maging time conscious ako," Iya told reporters during a press conference on Friday, February 11 at the 9501 Restaurant in Quezon City.

When asked if the two ever fight or gauge which is the better show, Iya had this to say:

"Hindi of course not. Kasi alam naman niya talagang magaling kami. [laughs] Hindi... We don'talk about it. He just told me that I have to be on the edge and to always be ready for whatever happens. Walang problema sa amin ni Drew. He was just really excited to have me wake up early also."

Iya Villana joined “Umagang Kay Ganda” this week along with 2010 Miss Universe fourth runner-up Venus Raj. For Iya, being included in the morning program is a happy experience so far.

"Masaya, sobrang saya. Even before I started I already liked the idea of starting the day early, so early that I'm starting ahead of everyone else."

Aside from hosting the ABS-CBN morning show, Iya also plays Scarlet in the Kapamilya primetime show “Martha Cecilia’s Kristine.” How does she differentiate her roles in the two programs?

"Hosting doesn't require you to play a role. That's what I love about it because I get to be myself. With ‘Kristine’ (Scarlet) contradictory to what I love about hosting I get to be myself, I also enjoy and love being someone that's totally different to who I am. And that's not just in terms of how they act or behave but also in terms of dressing that's why she looks sexier."

Iya is hosting UKG's segment 'Youth Tube' where she shows interesting videos from the Internet. Her primetime show “Kristine” aired its final episode on Friday, February 11.

Photo by Jerome Ascano, NPPA Images