MANILA – For the longest time, a lot of people think ABS-CBN executive Lauren Dyogi is Big Brother in the ABS-CBN reality show.

Dyogi, however, has repeatedly denied this, including in his recent interview with Toni Gonzaga for her vlog series.

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Sharing why he thinks many believe him to be “Kuya,” Dyogi said: “I think the imprint that I left in the beginnings of Big Brother, because I was the one na kapag may kontrobersya, ako 'yung haharap. Tapos Kuya is a good mimic, my intonation, my inflection.”

“Because in the beginning I was really the one creatively in control. So malaki po 'yung parte ng pagkatao ko na napupunta kay Kuya na napupunta sa programa because I was really in control. At that time, it was really my baby. It was really what I breathed day in, day out,” he added.

For Dyogi, “Pinoy Big Brother” holds a very special place in his heart because of the long years he’s worked with the same people who he now treats his family.

“Ang laki po nung 15 years, 16th na yata this year of 'Big Brother' na pinagsamahan namin dahil talagang literally, we were living together. Those were tough times na controversy was talagang wow. But I think 'yun din ang nakatulong sa popularity ng 'PBB,' because we know how to handle the controversy,” he said.

Now that it’s about to begin its 10th season, Dyogi shared what he loves the most about working on 'PBB.'

“Alam mo 'yun ang pinakapaborito kong parte ng 'Big Brother,' 'yung audition. 'Yun 'yung na-miss ko ngayong pandemic na digital 'yung audition. Dati kasi lumilibot sa iba’t ibang probinsya, iba’t ibang parte ng mundo. Paborito ko 'yung naghahanap, 'yung finding that needle in a haystack,” he said.

“Hindi mo akalain na si Kim Chiu, dati hindi naman uso 'yung chinita ‘di ba? Or Melai (Cantiveros), Maymay (Entrata). These are the people that you don’t expect to be the standards of artista but minahal sila ng tao. I think 'yun ang importante ngayon, sino ba ang mamahalin ng tao,” he added.

Does he have a favorite season?

“Memorable, marami. The first one was really memorable because of the problems we went through. Lahat ng may kontrobersya, memorable sa akin dahil ako 'yung humaharap sa MTRCB. 'Yung kay Melai memorable 'yun,” he said.

The 10th season of PBB kicks off with a celebrity edition.

Among the confirmed celebrity housemates are Alyssa Valdez, KD Estrada, Madam Inutz, Anji Salvacion, TJ Valderrama, Samantha Bernardo, Brenda Mage, Eian Rances, Alexa Ilacad and Shanaia Gomez.