The country’s longest-running noontime show celebrated its new milestone with the start of a countdown to another.
On Tuesday, July 30, noontime variety show ‘Eat Bulaga’ marked a special occasion in its run after officially turning 45 years old on the same day.
The show, still fronted by its original hosts Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon or TVJ, celebrated the special day with an opening production number highlighting its long-standing commitment of “hanggang may bata, may ‘Eat Bulaga'” or being there as long as there is a child.
Co-hosts Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola, Paolo Ballesteros, Ryzza Mae Dizon, Miles Ocampo, Atasha Muhlach, and Carren Eistrup, along with the ‘Singing Queens’ group all had their respective spotlights during the opening segment.
A special edition of the ‘Gimme 5’ game portion also happened, with special guests being the likes of Gladys Reyes, Ice Seguerra, and internet celebrities Team Payaman and House of Collab.
TVJ also had a production number before the end of the show as they announced beforehand the return of the ‘EBEST’ scholarship program.
‘Eat Bulaga’ also began counting down to the day of its highly-anticipated 50th anniversary in 2029, themed as the ‘5 Years to 5 Decades.’
The 45th anniversary special marks the first formal anniversary celebration of the ‘Dabarkads’ since its move to TV5 in 2023.
That year, the TVJ group opted to celebrated its 44th year on noontime through the inconspicuous ‘National Dabarkads Day’ on what was then-known as ‘E.A.T.’ as TAPE, Inc. continued to use the ‘Eat Bulaga’ title for its noontime show on GMA.
However, the other company later ceased branding their own show as such in January 2024 after the TVJ program won its court case, leading to the TV5 show being officially retitled to ‘Eat Bulaga.’
‘Eat Bulaga’ continues to air from Monday to Saturday lunchtime on TV5.