Kiko Estrada On How He Felt After ABS-CBN Got Him Then Dumped Him

KIKO ESTRADA is thankful that GMA-7 got him back again after he left them and tried to move to ABS-CBN two years ago. We all know what happened. It was announced that he’ll be one of the leading men of Julia Barretto when she’s launched as “Mirabella”, along with Diego Montano. But they were quickly dumped and replaced. He dropped out of circulation after that but now, Kiko is one of the leading men in “Strawberry Lane”. How did he feel when he was ousted of “Mirabella”?

“I’d be lying if I’d say na hindi ako nalungkot,” he says. “Kasi it’s a big show on primetime. I auditioned, nakuha ako and was promised na magiging one of the leads. For three months, I studied the role. Then biglang hindi ako kasali, so nasaktan ako.”

Some folks say it’s a blessing in disguise as the show didn’t rate as well as expected. “Sabi rin ng papa ko (Gary Estrada), blessing in disguise nga raw ka si heto, a new door opened for me sa GMA at lead ako.”

What does he mean when he said in the presscon that he feels safer with GMA? “Kasi my dad started here and I can feel na mas naaalagaan nila ako rito.”

And to top it all, he’s paired with Kim Rodriguez who everyone says is really his girlfriend even off cam. Isn’t that another blessing indeed? “Kim and I are just good friends po. We both started sa ‘Tween Hearts’ at dun pa lang naging, very close na kami. Even when I left for a while to be with ABS, hindi natapos ang friendship namin and now, I’m just too happy na kami uli ang nagkapareha rito sa ‘Strawberry Lane’, a rich kid who’s initially attracted to Joyce Ching as Dorina but will later on be closer to Kim who plays a tomboyish girl named Jack.”

GMA is proud that “Strawberry Lane” consistently posted high TV ratings in the viewer-rich areas of Urban Luzon and Mega Manila on its debut week, according to data from the industry’s leading ratings service provider Nielsen TV Audience Measurement. Urban Luzon and Mega Manila account for 77 and 60 percent, respectively, of the total urban TV household population in the entire country. It hit an Urban Luzon TV rating of 24.8% and Mega Manila TV rating of 26.4% compared to its rival program that registered only 22.6% and 20.7% in Urban Luzon and Mega Manila.