The Great British Bake Off: there’s a Filipino in the mix

Also, new Lea Salonga and Aga Muhlach film in the works, Mendoza retrospective in Sarajevo, final four exit, 12 new housemates enter the Big Brother house, Sing-offs whittle down hopefuls in The Voice Kids.

Alvin Magallanes in The Great British Bake Off Vl. Courtesy Love Productions

The sixth season of reality-TV contest The Great British Bake Off debuted last week, with 12 new contestants hoping to be hailed as the United Kingdom's best amateur baker.

They include the first Filipino contestant in the show’s history, Alvin Magallanes, a 37-year-old nurse from Berkshire in ­England.

A father of two, he quickly impressed judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, placing second in the Technical Challenge, in which the amateur bakers were asked to recreate Berry’s frosted walnut cake.

Broadcast on BBC One, the ­Bafta-winning programme drew record ratings for its sixth-­season opener, peaking at 10 million viewers. The previous season’s premiere attracted 7m viewers.

New Lea Salonga and Aga Muhlach film in the works

Filipino actors Lea Salonga and Aga Muhlach are set to reunite on the big screen, two decades after their hit 1995 movie Sana Maulit Muli (I Wish It Would Happen Again). The new film is due for release next year, according to production studio Star Cinema. "The timing feels right for us to work together again," said ­Salonga, who rose to international fame after taking the lead role in the musical Miss Saigon in 1989. However, she added: "We don't have a script or signed a contract."

Last month, the co-stars reunited for a red-carpet screening of the remastered version of Sana Maulit Muli. Salonga, 44, is currently a coach in the reality-TV singing contest The Voice Kids Philippines. She is set to headline the Broadway musical Allegiance – co-starring Star Trek actor George Takei and based on his experiences as a child in a Japanese-American internment camp in the United States during the Second World War – which will open on Broadway in New York in November.

Mendoza retrospective in Sarajevo

Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza will be honoured with a special retrospective programme at the Sarajevo Film Festival, which begins in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina tomorrow and runs until August 22.

Festival organisers described Mendoza as “one of the most original and prolific filmmakers” working in the industry ­today.

The 55-year-old director's films include 2008's Serbis (Service) and 2009's Kinatay (Butchered), which were both entries in the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival. His latest film, Taklub (Trap), was awarded a Jury Prize at Cannes this year.

Also screening at the Sarajevo festival is Theeb, the acclaimed film that was backed by Sanad, formerly the development and post-production fund of the defunct Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Directed by the Jordanian filmmaker Naji Abu Nowar, it tells the story of a Bedouin boy in Hijaz during the First World War.

Final four exit, 12 new housemates enter the Big Brother house

Twists continue to shake up the Pinoy Big Brother house. After Kenzo Gutierrez was evicted by a public vote last week, Big Brother ordered the remaining four finalists – Ylona Garcia, Franco Rodriguez, Jimboy Martin and Bailey May – to temporarily leave the house last Saturday – Day 50 in the reality show's timeline – to make way for a dozen new housemates who entered the house to join the competition.

While the show’s producers have not confirmed what’s coming next for the final four, it is ­expected that they will re-enter the house to compete with the finalists from the second batch.

Standouts among the 12 new contestants include overseas worker James Linao, ­Filipino-British model Margo Midwinter and construction worker Philip Lampart, whose first task was to care for his 1-year-old son Romeo inside the house this week, a first in Big Brother's history.

Actor Enchong Dee, who recently entered the house as a guest, will remain inside with the new batch. This is the 12th season and 10-year anniversary of Pinoy Big Brother, a franchise of the Dutch reality game show.

Sing-offs whittle down hopefuls in The Voice Kids

The Voice Kids Philippines continues its search for the country's best young crooner. On Sunday, the six singers from the team of celebrity coach Lea Salonga competed in the sing-off round, in which each contestant had to perform a two-minute solo.

Salonga picked two to advance to the next round of competition, the live shows: Reynan Dal-Anay and Esang de Torres.

Dal-Anay, who sang the classic hymn Amazing Grace, is turning out to be one of this season's breakout stars. The 11-year-old hails from the Tigwahanon Manobo tribe from the Southern province of Bukidnon and performs while wearing his tribe's traditional garb.

“I’m here to be an inspiration, not only for my tribe but for all the tribes in the Philippines,” Dal-Anay told Salonga.

The teams of celebrity coaches Bamboo Mañalac and Sarah Geronimo will take centre stage for their sing-offs this weekend.