After being launched as a sexy calendar girl earlier this year, Ria Atayde revealed she is ready to step out of her girl-next-door image and explore more mature roles.

The kapamilya actress will be playing her biggest role to date as one of the lead stars of the new ABS-CBN Entertainment and TV5 afternoon series Nag-Aapoy na Damdamin where she plays the role of Tony Labrusca’s wife Melinda.

“Kaya nga surprise, eto na nga po tayo. Ready for mature roles na talaga daw, for now (laughs). Dito I play a PR maven with a lot more sass and kasupladahan. Everything she does is out of her love for her husband Lucas (Tony) We were all pushed to limits na hindi namin alam kaya pala namin gawin. Coming in here, parang ang tagal din kasi namin hinintay itong show na ito. So medyo super happy kami, nag-aapoy in a sense that we’re overflowing with gratitude because finally heto na. Right now, we are fired up by passion and gratitude na finally mag-so-show na kami,” she said. 

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Early on in their taping days, Ria revealed that one of the first big challenges for her was shooting an intimate scene with her onscreen husband Tony.

“I think this is the most mature role that I’ve done. So that on its own is already a difficult experience so to speak. I think it’s nice to work with people you’re comfortable with. I’m grateful Tony is my leading man for this one and our directors are gracious enough to guide us through every delicate intimate scene. So I guess that’s really the challenge for me kasi nga as a wholesome po tayo (laughs),” she shared.

When asked how she felt while shooting the bed scene, Ria admitted, “Pawis na pawis, ganun (laughs).Nag-aapoy talaga, let me tell you this (laughs).”

READ: Sylvia Sanchez hits back at her daughter Ria’s bashers: ‘Wala akong pakialam sa kanilang lahat!’

In order to build chemistry not just with Tony but with the rest of her co-stars like Jane Oineza and JC de Vera, they tried to get to know each other better.

“I think kasi, as soon as we found out na magkakatrabaho kami, nag-effort na kami sa isa’t isa. Kaming apat naman, we started a group, we even tried to hang out prior to work na hindi naman nangyari. Pero nag-effort na kami to get to know each other on a personal level.

“Kasi ako personally, when I work with someone, nakakatulong na kumportable ako sa kanila, na at least I know something about them and they know something about me so we can be mutually vulnerable around each other without getting conscious and that worked for us. We’re like constantly messaging.

“Day one kasi pasabog na kagad yung eksena namin. So sabi ko, ‘Tony, at this point, best friend na kita.’ Yung ganun ka-close agad. I’m just grateful we became comfortable with each other easily. Saka lang talaga kami nagkakilala in preparation for this whole series,” she explained.

The Nag-Aapoy na Damdamin actress also counted herself lucky to be paired with her new leading man.

“It’s cool kasi we get along eh. Like on a personal level din not just professional. Nakakatuwa kasi napapadali yung trabaho ko. He guided me through it talaga. Ang nakakatawa dun, pag papanuorin niyo parang sobrang intense pero tawa kami ng tawa in between takes. So it was fun. As much as it was intense, nag-enjoy naman kami,” she said.

Nag-Aapoy Na Damdamin airs after Pira-Pirasong Paraiso from Mondays to Fridays at 3:50 p.m. on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, iWantTFC, TFC, A2Z, and TV5. The series stars Jane Oineza, Tony Labrusca, JC de Vera, Richard Quan, Maila Gumila, Joko Diaz, Carla Martinez, Nico Antonio, Kim Rodriguez, Aya Fernandez, Jeffrey Santos, Lovely Rivero, Jef Gaitan, William Lorenzo, Malou Crisologo, and Elyson de Dios.