Allen Ansay apologized to Sofia Pablo after their awkward scenes in 'Sparkle U: #Ghosted'

“Sparkle U: #Ghosted,” is far from Sofia Pablo and Allen Ansay’s usual love stories.

In the series, Sofia plays Alessi, and Allen plays Zac. The two have a summer fling, but since Zac has a girlfriend named Sela (played by Liana Mae), he ghosts Alessi despite still loving her.

Things get more complicated when Zac asks Alessi for help with Sela, who is haunted by a ghost at school. Alessi, with her third eye and the ability to communicate with ghosts, struggles to assist the couple due to her heartbreak.

Sofia and Allen told GMA News Online during the series’ media conference that since this is their first time not doing a typical love story, director Barry Gonzales wanted to create some awkwardness between them on set.

“Originally po, dapat gagawin ni Direk sa ‘min, magkahiwalay po kami ng standby area para po magkaroon ng parang wall. Eh kaso nung first taping day palang po, isa lang ‘yung standby area, isang buong classroom,” Sofia said.

“Sabi ko, ‘sorry Direk, di pwede [maghiwalay],’” she laughed.

[Originally, what the director wanted is to set up separate standby areas for us to have something like a wall. However, on the first taping day, there was only one standby area, which was an entire classroom. I said, "Sorry, Direk, it's not possible to separate.]

In Allen’s case, some awkwardness was created as he struggled with the character’s emotions, portraying someone who shared a past with Alessi and still has feelings for her.

“Hindi ko pa naman na-experience yun sa totoong buhay na ma-in love ka sa dalawang tao. So nung una talaga, grabe na-stress po ako nun,” he said.

[I haven't experienced that in real life, being in love with two people. So, at first, I was really stressed about it.]

There was this one time when Allen had to give a passionate reaction.

“Kasi pag ginawa mo siya, hindi ka pwedeng mag-base sa isang emotion lang eh. Sabi sa ‘kin ni Direk Barry po pag ginawa siya, kailangan makita ng tao na mahal ko yung dalawa,’” Allen said.

“Napaka ano ko, napaka red flag,” the actor said.

[Because when you portray that character, you can't just be based on one emotion. Director Barry told me that when portraying the character, people need to see that I love both of them. I’m such a red flag.]

“Wag tularan,” Sofia added.

[Do not emulate.]

With this, GMA News Online had to ask whether Team Jolly apologizes to each other after scenes depicting the characters' discomfort and conflict.

Allen told Sofia after the scene, “Aki, sorry, kailangan lang.” [Aki, sorry, it's just necessary.]

“Siya po talaga yung sorry nang sorry after,” Sofia added.

“Ako po, hindi ko po kailangan mag-sorry kasi ako po ‘yung nakatingin lang,” she smiled.

[He's the one who keeps saying sorry afterward. As for me, I don't need to apologize because I'm just observing.]

“Sparkle U: #Ghosted” also stars Rufa Mae Quinto, with Sparkle Teens Marco Masa and Princess Aliyah. The series has special participation from Archie Alemania, Debraliz, and Gio Alvarez.

It premieres on November 26 at 5:55 p.m. on GMA Network.

—  CACM, GMA Integrated News