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| JILLIAN WARD as MAYI in PRIMA DONNAS |
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| JILLIAN WITH CO-STARS SOFIA PABLO & ALTHEA ABLAN IN THE HIT AFTERNOON PRIME SHOW 'PRIMA DONNAS' |
JILLIAN WARD started as a child star when she was just 5 years old. Now, at 13, she gets her biggest role to date as a twen star playing the role of Donna Marie or Mayi in the hit GMA Afternoon Prime series, “Prima Donnas”. Her fans more than doubled, all rooting for her and the character she plays.
Now that the show’s tapng has been temporarily stopped due to the corona lockdown, Jillian says she misses working with her co-stars in the show so much, including Sofia Pablo, Althea Ablan, their mom Katrina Halili, dad Wendell Ramos and even the villains Aiko Melendez and Eijah Alejo.
“Ang tagal na naming magkakasama sa show kaya one big happy family na ang turingan namin sa isa’t isa,” she says in an online interview. “Sobrang nami-miss ko sila as they have a special in my heart kasi, most of them, I grew up working with them, not just my co-stars but pati yung production staff, lalo si DIrek Gina Alajar. Nami-miss ko rin talaga magtrabaho kaysa yung nakatambay ka lang maghapon sa loob ng bahay.”
So what does she do to entertain herself while on lockdown? “Iba-iba po. Playing games with my family, watching movies. I also continue to do singing lessons on my own and learn how to dance. Siempre, I exercise din po para physically fit at hindi mag-gain ng weight habang walang masyadong ginagawa. I also read books but my favorite talaga is something na bihira kong magawa noong busy ako sa taping, yung matulog.”
How is she affected by what’s happening now all over the world due to the dreaded corona virus? “It made me more aware to appreciate the things I used to just take for granted. I realized the importance of really taking good care of yourself for good health. Siempre, nami-miss kong mamasyal, magpunta sa malls, ganun.”
What’s her biggest realization? “I think I get to appreciate the value of life even more. Life is really short so we should starting not hate but love, lalo na sa social media. We should spread more joy and more gratitude for all the things that we enjoy in this life.”
How does her family make sure they’ll be protected from the virus? “Of course, proper hygience is number one.We practice hand washing a lot and we also try to eat healthy to strengthen our body’s resistance to illnesses. Hindi lang physically kundi also mentally, which we do by trying to get more knowledge about how to fight the virus.
"When we feel lonely, we call up our relatives and other family members and also friends to communicate with them. ANd we pray a lot for this health crisis to end soon.”
She personally wants to thanks all doctors, health workers and other frontlines who are serving the country at this time of crisis.
“I want to thank all of them from the bottom of my heart kasi grabe po ang sacrifices nila para sa mga kababayan natin. I think they are angels that God has given to us. I really included them in my prayers so they’ll always be safe and healthy.”
What’s the first thing she will do when the lockdown is lifted and things go back to normal? “Siempre po, una sa lahat, I will pray and thank the Lord. Ever since, malakas na po talaga ang faith ko sa Kanya but I can say I became more spiritual because of what’s happening now.
"I pray not just for myself but also for my family, my colleagues and the whole country, the whole world, para matapos na itong pinagdaraanan natin. Then lalabas po kami ng family ko. I don’t know where to go but basta, lalabas kami dahil nami-miss ko na nang sobra ang outside world.
"And then, magte-taping na po kami ng new episodes for ‘Prima Donnas’ dahil my fans tell me sa social media accounts ko na sobrang nami-miss na nila ang show. So, abangan lang nila kasi abangan lang nila ang new episodes na magbubunyag kung sino ba talaga ang character kong si Mayi at kung ano pang mga pagsubok ang haharapin namin ng mga kapatid ko.”
