SOme decades ago, Boy Abunda — known for his ability to pin down the most difficult and evasive subjects for interviews — took the initiative to write letters to three of the most prominent female icons on the planet: Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Walters and Hillary Clinton. He invited each for a sit down with him, even if he knew it was practically impossible for any of them to say yes. He tried it anyway because he wouldn’t be the lone and perpetually reigning King of Talk in the country if he didn’t.

“San nanggaling yun? Wala lang, pangarap ko lang. Hinanap namin ang addresses nila,” the ever amiable A-list celebrity said nonchalantly in a media conference at his new home-base in GMA Network.

He said he still has the handwritten letters to Winfrey and Walters to this day because they were “returned to sender.”

“Pero sinagot ako ni Hillary Clinton with signature pa. Tama na sa akin yun, matuloy man o hindi basta on record sinagot nya ako.”

Laughing at his younger antics, what is important, according to Abunda, is forging the courage to do what you want.

“You have to try” was his short but meaningful conclusion to the anecdote because, to this very day, the spirit of trying remains strong in this accomplished personality.

It is the spirit he brings with him as he prepares for his long-awaited return to television via an all-new afternoon talk show, “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda,” which premieres tomorrow, January O3, on GMA 7.

He, therefore, asserted that while he enjoys the full support of GMA’s topmost executives and has been given a creative team comprised of some of the best talents in the network and the rest of the industry, he will still be — and already is — very hands-on with his show.

For one, he personally called and scored interviews with the day’s biggest and most-talked-about celebrities lined up for the season.

“Everybody who has worked with me knows I’m not going to depend on my staff or my bosses. I want the show to work, and I want the biggest names and the biggest stories in my first week,” Abunda conveyed.

“So, I called the management office of Marian Rivera and Maine Mendoza. I called Shirley Kuan personally to negotiate and to talk to her about Bea Alonzo, and she has confirmed on a Thursday of that first week. I spoke directly to Alden Richards and to Paolo Contis, sabi ko hindi ako papayag na hindi ka mag-oo. I spoke to Popoy Caritativo and confirmed Carla Abellana,” he said, enumerating the names of the celebrities and their respective agents.

“In other words, I am going to work with a great team pero hindi ako uupo. Kaya sinasabi ko sa kanila, pasensya na kayo, sobrang taas ng energy ko at pakialamero ako. Dahil hindi ako papayag na hindi mag deliver dahil sobrang tiwala ang binigay sa akin nila Atty. [Felipe] Gozon [GMA Network president and CEO].

“In other words, I’m not going sit back and wait for manna to fall from heaven. Magta-trabaho ako.”

The fruits of his hard work have indeed resulted in a meaty pilot week with Fast Talk welcoming Kapuso Primetime Queen Marian Rivera, Asia’s Multimedia Star Alden Richards, box office queen Bea Alonzo, and Sparkle prime stars Glaiza de Castro and Paolo Contis.

There is no doubt Abunda will ask them the difficult questions and get them to reply, given his three decades worth of experience handling interviews with the most influential celebrities, business and political figures all the way to the presidents.

What is interesting to note is that while Abunda’s acclaim as an expert, if not the expert, interviewer is generally attributed to his many successful years with ABS-CBN, the current generation is unaware that it was actually in GMA Network, where the King of Talk-to-be started out.

In the early ‘90s, Abunda ventured into public relations and became a consultant for GMA. During this period, one of GMA’s executives, Bobby Barreiro, suggested he try hosting a show, seeing in him that all-important potential.

And so, from N994 to N995, he co-hosted the late-night variety talk show “Show and Tell” with Gretchen Barretto, Ai-Ai delas Alas and Lolit Solis.

This stint led him to host the hit entertainment talk show “Startalk” with Solis and Kris Aquino in 1995. Four years later, he moved to ABS-CBN, where he further cemented his status as a talk show authority and go-to interviewer.

The rest is history everyone knows, and at this crossroads, a whole new chapter is yet to unfold for the King of Talk.

Grateful to return to the network that gave him a break to pursue such a storied career, Abunda is humbled to the core and — no matter who he’s become and what he’s achieved — he pledges to start over again as if he were a newbie and give it his all.

The day before the King returns to television after 24 years, The Sunday Times Magazine is taking the opportunity to re-introduce Abunda to the new generation, re-acquaint him with past ones, and as a whole, remind everyone why he remains and deserves to be Philippines’ “King of Talk.”

How will ‘Fast Talk with Boy Abunda’ attract televiewers in the age of social media?

It’s not gonna be easy, it’s going to be tough dahil ako’y hihiram ng O0 minutes ng oras tuwing hapon from Monday to Friday mula sa mga nanay, tatay, mga Kapuso na makipagbalitaaan, makipagkwentuhan.

Is it going to work? Mapangahas masyado sabihin na magagawa ko iyon.

I am cognizant of where we are today. Everybody has become an active participant in the communications ecosystem. Hindi katulad noon na inaantay natin ang mga palabas para i-confirm ang mga balita o di kaya, we were all going for exclusives hangga’t nagsasalita ang artista.

Saan tayo sisingit? qhis was a brilliant idea by my head writer to call the show Fast Talk with Boy Abunda because that is my brand; that is who I am to the millennials, even to the zoomers.

Fast Talk is fun because hindi masyadong naka hulma, it’s specific and personal to the guests. qo be clear, I own the copyright to Fast Talk. Nevertheless, I told the executives of my former channel. Nagpasintabi tayo.

So, gagamitin natin ang isang elemento na akin here in my new show. Aside from that, susubok din tayong gumawa ng headlines.

Kung marami sa social media ang nagiging sources ng kwento, hindi ako hihinto. Maghahabol din tayo ng kwento, malay mo makatisod tayo ng balita na sa atin mag-u-umpisa because remember, we have access to the GMA artists, to our personal friends at may konting kredibilidad dahil may fact-checking kami. Kung halimbawa magbibigay ako ng headline, dadaan yan sa napakaraming tao before I’m able to do a commentary or an enumeration of headlines for the day.

The last part of the show — I know I’m just talking about N5 to 20 minutes — but the last part of the show is, again, a brand where I’m very strong. I’m not saying I own it, but if there’s a brand that identifies me as a talk show host, it’s that I am an interviewer.

So, I will do Fast Talk, headlines, commentary, whatever I can do, very quickly, with the centerpiece of the show always the interview.

Through these elements, I am hoping na papapasukin kami sa mga tahanan at puso ng mga manononood.

I remember when I started ‘Startalk,’ tawa kami ng tawa noon nina Kris [Aquino], Manay Lolit [Solis] because I think we rated a 3. But you start somewhere, bago ka eh.

Are you excited or nervous to bring back the talk show format when it’s long been gone from mainstream television?

I think what’s difficult is the process of getting there. The whole challenge of hosting is the preparation so that when you’re already in front of the camera, you are sure that it looks natural.

Hindi ako kinakabahan na I’m gonna lose myself, the kaba is good. I’m going to convert this kaba into a certain kind of energy that is going to push me to do the best I can. Kasi ako, sobra ako — nakikialam ako sa tech, sa content. I don’t know kung papayagan nila ako makiaalam sa edit pero marunong ako mag edit, mag score. So I do production and I’m really blessed because I am surrounded by people who are great contributory minds to the whole concept.

How do you get your guests to talk?

Silence is sometimes the most eloquent moment in talk shows. Halimbawa pag may tinanong ka — oo o hindi, buntis ka ba? And then there’s a 10-second lull? That’s better; that silence is more riveting.

May mga artista tayo na mabilis, may mabagal but wala namang formula ang storytelling, tulungan iyon.

The whole challenge now is how do we tell the story. This a storytelling business.

You are known for asking the most difficult questions of your interviewees and getting them to answer straight. How do you do that? How are you able to ask about something so sensitive or personal?

I learned it the hard way, I was not always there. Naalala ko noong nag-u-umpisa ako sa Startalk, ang dami kong mali as an interviewer or host. There was an interview that I did na sabi ni Manay Lolit, who was managing the talent, I could ask any question. Going back to the interview, sabi ni Manay sa akin, tanungin mo kahit ano. So tinanong ko but I didn’t feel good about it.

Magalang ako mag interview. Matapang doon sa pwede pero I will not interview with an intention of insulting or demeaning a person. I will do an interview because I want to tell a story.

How do I make people comfortable? I go beyond the set. Alam ng tao na pag uupo ako sa harap, I’m there as an interviewer. That aside from being present or conversant on many things, naghahanda ako at para sa akin isa yun sa pagpapakita sa guest ko na iginagalang ko sila.

Dati noong nag uumpisa ako, kailangan maitanong ko ito, like, ‘Are you gay? Are you pregnant?’

Hindi eh. Pag umupo ka, you have to listen to the wind, you have to listen to the body language of your interviewee. Handa ba ito? Ito ba ay nagbubukas? Dinadala ka ba niya doon sa gusto nya? At alam mo rin, kung ano ang nakaka violate.

I have passed that stage of trying to prove that I can. For me, napagdaanan ko na iyon. Pero meron ding mga importanteng tanong na ine-expect ng mga manonood because it is not just about you, it’s about your audience.

I know there’s a critic here who would say, ‘Why do interviewers sometimes start questions by saying, ‘I wanted to ask you this question?’

Actually, with that, you buy time. You’re showing that it was not an easy process for you to get to that question. Meron kang latag.

How will you deal with negative issues that may affect the stars of GMA?

I will help the stars of GMA. Yung negativity kasi, especially in this generation, has become part of the environment.

It is important that we have the power to open or close our doors and our hearts to anything that we feel is worthy or unworthy of our attention.

Ang hirap na discipline yan. Sa mga artista ko, sinasabi ko, mamili ka kung ano ang kaya mo.

I will not, in ordinary moments of my life today, allow viciousness and toxicity to get into my space.

Now, with reference to GMA artists, tulungan. I am a teacher, I am a talk show host, and paano ako makakatulong? qo make GMA artists appreciate that I am here not to embarrass, disparage, demean or insult anybody. I am here because I am part of the industry’s storytelling pool.

For the longest time, nagdududa ako sa relevance ko as an interviewer, lalo na noong pandemic. Sabi ko ano ba ang halaga ng interview? Some people are saying, actor lang ako, artista lang ako, I am not supposed to be doing interviews because I’m supposed to be acting. Hindi.

It was the great Betty Davis, in an interview with Dick Cavett many decades ago, who said, ‘I can only tell half of my story through the movies I do, half of which, you guys in the interview business, handle.’

In other words, hindi nakikilala ang artista sa trabaho lang, nakikilala sila dahil sa atin [interviewers] because we are able to ask the questions.

I know my job, and that’s what I want celebrities to understand. Don’t be afraid, we are part of the story you want to share with the public.

What have you sacrificed for your new GMA show, ‘Fast Talk?’

I will not be able to teach. Before I had active negotiations with GMA, I was in the process of putting up a small school, the Academy of Short Courses by Boy Abunda, but it will have to take a backseat for now.

My partner Bong, right now [at the time of the media conference], is on his way to climb the peak of Mt. Apo. I’m not able to go with him, and I will not be able to travel a lot for the time being.

These are the little sacrifices, but they are not as big as the excitement I’m getting because I’m going back to television.