?WE WERE kind of disappointed when Paolo left. He knew his role in Season 3 would be big. But with Richard coming in, we found the perfect opportunity to make the changes we wanted. Things turned out OK.?

Thus, ?Survivor Philippines? program manager Neil Gumban recounted former host Paolo Bediones? decision to move to TV5. Paolo was replaced by Richard Gutierrez.

Gumban stressed that there was ?no bad blood? between Paolo and the ?Survivor? team. ?He was professional enough to inform us in advance. He?s still a good friend,? Gumban said.

He had only praise for the new host, whom he described as ?adventurous? and ?a perfectionist.?

Leo Sanchez-Matias, GMA 7 assistant vice president for Public Affairs, related: ?Whenever we shot scenes with Richard, he?d tell us if he could do better and if he should re-shoot. He was very dedicated; we never had to worry about him.?

Gumban added: ?He tagged along even to the wet market, maybe because he couldn?t do that in the Philippines. Someone recognized him when we went to the local hospital to get vaccinated. The people wanted him to sing. He told them, ?I?m just an actor.??

Richard was very involved in production, reported Gumban. ?We consulted him about the challenges and the twists that we incorporated in the show.?

The 18 ?castaways? were marooned on an island that was an hour away, by land, from where the Inquirer stayed in Ranong, in southern Thailand, during a media visit. Ranong was among six provinces hit by the December 2004 tsunami that killed over 5,300 people.

Isolation was a top consideration in choosing the perfect location, said Matias. ?We went to three other countries. They had beautiful islands but most were commercialized.? Two other factors in the decision were ?the vastness of the area?we needed lots of space? and safety. ?We had an antidote for snake venom, but not for the venom in the saliva of Komodo dragons that we saw in Indonesia. We couldn?t risk that.?

Choosing the castaways was a long and difficult task as well, said Gumban. They are back in Manila now, but the outcome of the adventure will be kept under wraps till the end of the series, which started on Monday.

The ?Survivor? castaways are: (male) Jon Hall, Ferdz Recio, Mico Aytona, Ian Batherson, Ahron Villena, Buhawi Meneses, Akihiro Sato, Ervic Vijandre and (gay stand-up comic) Pretty Trizia; (female) Aubrey Miles, Karen delos Reyes, Aira Bermudez, Michelle Madrigal, Elma Muros, Solenn Huessaff, Princess Snell, Myka Flores and Moi Macampos.

Email mcruz@inquirer.com.ph