Riva Quenery has been a long-time fan of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, and now gets to act alongside them in ‘The House Arrest of Us.’ YouTube: Riva Quenery/ Twitter: Alora Sasam
MANILA — Riva Quenery remembers clearly the 2nd of March 2014, when she joined thousands of other “KathNiel” superfans at “The Best Fair Ever,” and ended up chasing the van carrying her idols.
The whole-day event was a celebration of the success of “Got to Believe,” the ABS-CBN primetime series starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.
Fast-forward to 2020, Quenery remains one of KathNiel’s biggest fans — and beyond that, a good friend to the real-life couple.
That’s thanks to Quenery’s casting in “The House Arrest of Us,” the upcoming digital movie series of Bernardo and Padilla set to premiere this weekend.
During the Star Cinema production’s recent media launch, Quenery was asked whether she has told the couple about her being their long-time fan.
“Hindi pa yata alam nila Kath and DJ ‘yun, hindi ko pa nababanggit sa kanila na nag-pa-picture ako sa kanila before,” she said.
“Tapos noong ‘G2B’ fair, hinahabol ko pa ‘yung van nila kaso dinumog na, kaya hindi na ako nakapag-pa-picture sa kanila.”
Over the years since she joined showbiz, Quenery has crossed paths numerous times with KathNiel at the ABS-CBN studios.
But her being part of “The House Arrest of Us” has allowed her to have a more personal relationship with both. In Bernardo and Padilla’s words, the entire cast has become a family of sorts, given their lock-in setup for filming due to the pandemic.
“Noong first day, noong nakita ko na sila noong magpapa-swab [test] pa lang kami, hindi ko alam kung ano iri-react ko, kung mag-pa-fangirl ba ko, o tahimik na lang ako. Tahimik na lang ako,” Quenery recalled.
“Kaya hanggang ngayon, hindi nila alam ‘yun, ngayon lang!”
As a fan who would only once watch KathNiel on TV and who now gets to act with them, Quenery shared her observation of the tandem behind the scenes, which admittedly sparked the familiar “kilig” she’s always had seeing them together.
“May mga eksena na si Kathryn lang, may eksena na si DJ lang. Pero ‘pag kunyari, isang oras lang sila maghihiwalay, maririnig mo na ‘yung, ‘Tangi!’” she said, referring to the couple’s term of endearment for each other.
“Sobrang naku-cute-an ako. Ilang years na sila, pero parang isang buwang pa lang sila, parang na sa ligawan stage pa rin sila. Sana all. Sana all talaga.”
In “The House Arrest of Us,” Bernardo and Padilla portray an engaged couple whose respective, warring families are forced to share a home due to the pandemic.
Directed by Richard Arellano, “The House Arrest of Us” is scheduled to debut on October 24 and will run for 13 weekly episodes on KTX.ph and iWantTFC.
It also stars Ruffa Gutierrez, Herbert Bautista, Dennis Padilla, Arlene Muhlach, Gardo Versoza, Alora Sasam, Anthony Jennings, and Hyubs Azarcon.