JUDY Ann Santos has proven she can be a good and witty host in “Junior Master Chef” that will have its live finale tomorrow, Saturday, 6 p.m., after “TV Patrol Weekend.”

“When this was offered to me, tinanggap ko agad, but when I got home, I had my doubts,” she said. “I asked myself, tama ba'ng ginawa ko? Ang acting kasi, karugtong na ng pusod ko 'yan. Pero ang hosting, ngayon ko pa lang susubukan. I just took it as a challenge to explore other fields in the industry. As the show went on, I realized masyado akong nage-enjoy hosting it. I’m glad tinanggap ako ng tao as a host, but honestly, sa tingin ko, my hosting needs some more improvement. I also have to thank my husband (Ryan Agoncillo), na siya talagang host in the family. All his valuable inputs about my hosting helped me a lot.”

The final four kiddie cooks are Philip Amarillo, Kyle Imao, Mika Tanaka, and the most goodlooking of them, Jobim Jalbuena, who’s also an Ingglisero and says he wouldn’t mind trying showbiz if there’s an opportunity. The top winner will bag P1 million cash plus culinary scholarship. The 2nd placer will get P500,000 while the 3rd and 4th placers will get P250,000 each.

We ask them how they’ll remember their Ate Juday as host of “Junior Master Chef.”

Philip: “Mabait siya. Tinuturuan kami ng tama.”

Kyle: “Sobrang sayang kasama kasi lagi siyang masaya. Nagpapa-deliver pa ng pizza.”

Mika: “Hindi siya mataray kundi sobrang mabait. Very patient pag nagkakamali ka.”

Jobim: “She’s super mabait, super helpful in the kitchen. She gives tips to us and won’t just criticize our cooking. We’ll miss her.”

SAM WANTS TO HAVE A BEACH DATE WITH ALJUR

BOTH Aljur Abrenica and Kylie Padilla insist they were never on but most writers believe that they did go steady for a while but they chose to keep it secret. Now, Aljur is being linked to Sam Pinto who has expressed her desire for them to have a date on the beach.

Aljur is not busy with a soap now after he played the role of Dayaw in “Amaya,” but he’s busy shooting the movie “Kontrabida Girl” with Rhian Ramos and he also just taped an episode of “Spooky Valentine” entitled “Manibela” where he’s paired with Maxene Magalona.

“I play Ariel, a taxi driver, who’s a single dad to a little girl,” he says. “I do my job of taking passengers wherever they want to go, but one day, I start seeing dead people and worst, I notice the people I’m close to, Maxene Magalona and Tiya Pusit, ignore me like I don’t exist. Only my little daughter can see me.”

He then meets Frank Magalona who plays Jonas, a lost soul, who explains to him that the reason he sees dead people is because he himself is already dead. But there’s a reason why his soul lingers on earth and cannot cross over to the after-life. He has unfinished business and one more mission to perform. “Kung ano yun, ito ang dapat ninyong panoorin sa ‘Spooky Valentine Presents Manibela’ this Saturday after ‘Manny Many Prizes’ on GMA7,” he says.

NOT ABOUT ANNE, SAYS LEA

LEA Salonga expressed her disgust over performers who sing off key in an interview. She said it's not pleasing “when somebody who clearly has no voice to speak of and massacres every single song that they get their hands on fancies themselves a singer and think they can make a career out of it."

Some folks quickly concluded she’s targeting Anne Curtis who had a blockbuster concert at the Big Dome. She denied this, of course, saying it’s not Anne she’s referring to. And she won’t mention any names.

In fairness to Anne, she herself proclaimed that she’s not really a singer and she’s doing it just for fun. It’s not her fault that the public wholeheartedly supported her concert. We think audiences today go to concerts not just for the singing. If that were so, then they’ll just listen to the CD’s of their fave singers.

They go to concerts for the whole package, the production values, the costumes and all the trimmings just to be entertained. They want to laugh, and Anne no doubt made them laugh with her hilarious antics, with her constantly making fun of herself and her limitations. And let’s face it, Anne is one beautiful eye candy, especially when she dons her revealing outfits on stage.

GRACE LEE GRABS CHANCE

WE can't blame Grace Lee if she’s making the most out of her being linked with Pres. Noynoy. After all, she doesn’t know until when her newfound popularity as the apple of the president’s eye would last, so she might as well take advantage of all the media attention and make hay while the sun shines.

Even her manager, Arnold Vegafria, is obviously aware that this has boosted her stock so much as it’s said two networks are now offering her attractive talent fees, much higher than what she’s currently getting.

Not only that, even advertising agencies are reportedly knocking on her door to get her to do more endorsements for them. We just hope she gets to finish doing all of them before the president (and the public’s) interest in her wanes.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF FULFILLMENT

DIRECTOR Louie Ignacio gets a different kind of fulfillment directing the kiddie show “Tropang Potchi.”

“It’s a values-oriented show that imparts important messages about life, love, family and friendship and I’m so glad that GMA got me to direct it as it’s nice to be part of a show that helps young viewers be better persons,” he says. “Tomorrow, we’ll show how important it is to have good word of honor and credibility. Sometimes, we get caught in situations where our being trustworthy is tested. Our kiddie host Julian Trono, Sabrina Man, Miggy Jimenez, Bianca Umali, Liane Valentino and Lenlen Frial get into arguments when someone promised something and wasn’t able to fulfill it. How will Mascot Potchi help solve this messy situation? Yan ang ipe-present namin sa next episode ng show.”

The kids will also join the DLSU Dragonboat team and share what they’ve learned about this sport that’s getting more and more popular these days.  Also, they will demonstrate the different stunts and acts that they have learned from a circus.  Both activities require teamwork and trust, that are important in solving the problem the kids are currently facing. Don’t miss all this tomorrow at “Tropang Potchi,” 9:00 a.m. on GMA7.