'Miriam joins Paolo and Ethel in Extra Challenge' farewell special

Miriam Quiambao is very visible again on television. Showbiz observers and viewers alike can't help but ask is she back for good? Is the former "Extra Challenge" host really willing to let go of her posh lifestyle in Hong Kong to again take her chances in the glittery world of show business?

There's simply no denying that one of Miriam's primary reasons for coming back is her love to the program that launched her to stardom.

Last Monday, Miriam surprised loyal "Extra Challenge" viewers when she appeared, without much fanfare, as Paolo Bediones' guest co-host in the program's "No Politics" episode. "It feels great to be working with old friends again and I've realized that I really missed 'Extra Challenge.' And what's even greater is that it is as if I had never left," Miriam said.

Loyal followers of the Kapuso Network's primetime reality program, it seems, have no objections to once again watching the tandem of Paolo Bediones and Miriam, together with Ethel Booba, for the program's final airing month. It was, after all, the Paolo-Miriam tandem that started the golden age of primetime TV's leading and longest running reality program. Moreover, the recent performance in the ratings game, relative to its competitor "Pinoy Big Brother" Teen Edition, has significantly picked-up.

Though saddened with the program's impending farewell, Miriam is proud of how the show has literally worked its way to the top. As Miriam said, "I guess all things have to come to an end at some point. I'm just glad that I have been a part of a show that I can be proud of. I'm also proud that 'Extra' has gone so far and decided to end it at the top of its game. To me, 'Extra' will always be the original and the best Pinoy reality show on primetime!"

Miriam, who started her showbiz career via GMA Network's "Extra Extra," left local showbiz after getting married on December 2004 to Italian businessman Claudio Rondinelli. Since then she has lived both in Italy and Hong Kong, and in between has traveled around the world with her husband.

She may have been semi-retired for more than two years but when asked what her most memorable "Extra Challenge" experience is, not a single tiny detail is forgotten...

"The staff challenged us to climb Mt. Pulag at the heat of summer. We traversed bodies of water and irregular terrain on the mountainous provinces up north and hiked for the whole day until the following morning. The vehicle broke down and the staff did their best to piss me off with challenging circumstances. But instead, their plans backfired and they themselves got pissed because they couldn't get to my nerves."

She continued, "I was cool and professional the whole time. And as we approach the grasslands near the peak, I remember admiring the purple and indigo sky with the high full moon on my left gradually changing into violet, pink and orange as the sun rises on my right. When we got to the top, they surprised me with a birthday party and a letter from my family."

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Still related to "Extra Challenge's" pending farewell, I am sharing with you the official statement released by the Kapuso Network regarding the end of the program.

After two and a half years of leading in its timeslot on local primetime television, the longest running reality show, Extra Challenge, will be airing its last episode before the end of the month.

GMA Network management and the people behind Extra Challenge have decided to end the program while it is still the No. 1 reality show, stressing that with the program's nearly phenomenal run of over 90 concepts, about 600 episodes aired, and more than 550 challenges featured, the show has nothing more to prove.

Owing its birthright from GMA News and Public Affairs' magazine show "Extra, Extra", Extra Challenge did the almost unthinkable by fearlessly fusing the trend of reality shows abroad into a single program - a series of episodic "challenges", which airs from Monday to Friday, and with themes changing nearly every week. With this, Extra Challenge turned itself into the best of the world's reality shows rolled into one.

Consistently winning the numbers game, Extra Challenge toppled more than ten shows pitted by the rival network and was one of the flagship programs that helped GMA-7 become the number one network.

With the Extra Challenge brand's pending farewell, GMA Network is committed to launching new reality programs in the future. The people behind Extra Challenge's success will be behind these upcoming endeavors.

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