PEP: Mel Tiangco says Mel & Joey was not cancelled, but rather 'retired'

It was reported on Monday, July 11, that GMA 7's Sunday evening program Mel & Joey has been cancelled by the network after almost seven years of airing. According to the report, the verdict was allegedly given to the staff of the show only on July 6, Wednesday—the same day they taped for what is supposed to be the show's final episode. PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) caught up with one of the show's hosts, Mel Tiangco, at the press conference for the relaunch of Ogie & Regine's Celebrity Ukay-ukay held earlier Tuesday, July 12, at the GMA compound. The respected broadcast journalist was quick to answer questions about the reported "cancellation" of her Sunday evening talk show. "Yes, I would like to say it was retired more than cancelled," she stated. "You know, because it has been so long. The show has been on for so long. "At saka siyempre, nag-iiba na yung genre ng mga shows, e. Ang katapat namin reality, e. Talent show. "Di ba yung Pinoy Got Talent at saka sa Channel 5 [Talentadong Pinoy]? Talent [show] din yun, e. "So, the network wants to put also a talent show on that slot," said Mel, who seemed to have no resentment at all with the management's decision. She also clarified what has been said in earlier reports that they were only informed of the show's "retirement" on their July 6 taping. "No. I knew months ago. I was told before. I was called by the management. That's [report] not true," she said. She also explained why she got emotional to the point of crying on the set during their taping. "I cried lang kasi, alam mo, sa spiel nila, ikinuwenta nila yung how many episodes there was and how many years, you know, Mel & Joey was. "And then it just jolted me. I said, 'No, this is not ano [correct]' because I have been in that timeslot for the past twenty-four years. "Mel & Joey is only six years, e. But I have been in the Sunday slot for twenty four years and there have been more than 1,200 episodes. So, it just occurred to me na, my God!" Before transferring to the Kapuso network in 1996, Mel used to host the Sunday evening program Mel & Jay on ABS-CBN with Jay Sonza which began in 1987. When she and Sonza left the Kapamilya network, together they hosted Partners Mel & Jay which occupied the same timeslot as their former program. In 2004, Jay left television to pursue a political career and the show was reformatted and retitled into Partners with Mel Tiangco. Until Joey de Leon came in later that year and the show was called Mel & Joey. "You know, the people have been letting me into their homes every Sunday night for the past twenty-four years. "So, parang naano ba ako... na-senti ako na, and now I'm leaving them. "I feel like now I'm leaving, it's like when you, di ba? "When you're in a home, and then you're a guest, and you enjoy the company, and you enjoy the home, you enjoy the people there, tapos aalis ka... It's like leaving something. Doon ako naiyak. "Imagine that, twenty-four years in that timeslot. Literally tumanda na ako dun sa timeslot na yun. Literally! "Baka kayo hindi pa pinapanganak no'n, you were still babies then when I started with that timeslot," she told the group of young reporters and bloggers who were present during the presscon. Mel & Joey is set to air for two more Sundays. The final episode taped last July 6 will be aired two weeks from now. Life still goes on for Mel Tiangco after the show ends. For now, she keeps herself busy with the latest projects of the Kapuso Foundation which she heads as executive vice president and COO. She's also still the news anchor of GMA 7's daily primetime news program 24 Oras with Mike Enriquez and a fairly new program called Powerhouse on GMA News TV Channel 11. Mel also revealed that she will be doing another show with GMA-7 but the details of this have yet to be confirmed. "Well, they [GMA] said they are conceptualizing another show for me so... I don't what that is and I don't know when that will come." -- Demai Sunio-Granali, PEP