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A life in the day of Dina Pugliese |
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What's it like to be a part of the city's number one morning show? Dina Pugliese, Breakfast Television's popular new co-host, reveals all in an interview with Archie D'Cruz.
My weekday mornings are early! I usually wake up the rooster at 4:00 a.m., but I really can’t complain seeing as I don’t have the crazy long commute into work that [Breakfast Television co-host] Kevin Frankish and [weather specialist] Frank Ferragine do.
 It could be worse, I once worked on a morning show that required me to get up at midnight – now that was tough!
It’s safe to say with hours like these– there is no “built-in alarm clock” – there is absolutely nothing natural about rising at the crack of black. And yes, I do miss sleeping in and would definitely be late for work without my trusty alarm clock.
I am most definitely a morning person. The morning is when I am most vibrant and full of energy; however, I absolutely must have my trusty cup of java and fill up on a big breakfast to get me geared up for the day! I like to review my notes in the morning so that I’m good to go.
What I wear on the day is something I decide the previous week. I have had an incredible relationship with Mary Dipede, store owner of Mijaneaux in Woodbridge, long before my on-air career began – so it was a natural transition to have her be my clothing sponsor when I did get my first on-air gig. She knows my style inside and out. I visit Mary’s boutique myself to get wardrobe ideas every single week and I am super hands-on about hand-picking every garment.
I am lucky to live so close to work. I hop in a cab and arrive in under 10 minutes… it’s a breeze. I first head over to the CHUM Television building, get into hair and make-up, and get ready for my first gig – co-hosting BreakfastTelevision (BT) with Kevin Frankish and the entire BT family until 9:00 a.m.
When I arrive, Kevin has the show well underway (he‘s live to air from 6:00 a.m., I’m on from 6:40) and the crew is busy making sure our guests are taken care of, that the show is running smoothly, etc.
The minute I step onto the BT set, I get charged with their positive energy and warm smiles. It helps to be able to work with people who give off such a great vibe that early in the morning – how can I not be in a good mood? In just such a short time, they truly have become my extended family.
I’m already familiar with the material (since I prep both the night before and the morning of!) so it’s easy for me to have a fluid conversation with my guests. My two big passions are people and entertainment (okay three, if you include food!) so you can understand why I adore BT. I get to meet and learn so much about so many wonderful, inspiring and creative people every single day.
I have a lot of fun on the show. I do know that people love it when I make a fool of myself (which I do on a daily basis). Then there’s my constant singing and dancing (which usually involves Frank Ferragine and, from time to time, Kevin Frankish) and my occasional improv of celebs (for example, my impression of the Barbara Walters/Donald Trump/Rosie O’Donnell feud – which you can see for yourself at www.citynews.ca, click on Inside CityNews – the look on Kevin’s face is priceless).
BEING a live show, we do have our “oops” moments – on a daily basis! In fact these moments are part of the reason why the show is so real and fun. We don’t have our guard up and we are exactly the same people on air, as we are off. The BT team are all good friends and are pretty good at covering each other or making fun of whatever just happened to ease the tension and make it fun. I myself have had animals attack and relieve themselves on the spot, sent electronic gadgets flying, fallen on ice and been busted singing into commercial break.
My worst “oops” moment though came not during BT, but at the MuchMusic VJ Search: The Series (LIVE!) television broadcast – a wardrobe malfunction. Talk about a big “Oops!” Unlike Janet Jackson though, I WAS wearing something underneath (thank God!)
Funnily enough, it was the VJ Search series that got me into BT. I started doing weekly gossip segments on BT a year prior to joining – promoting and recapping episodes of the MuchMusic show. By summer, I was well aware that they were looking for a new host (as Liza Fromer had made the announcement that she was leaving for good).
Thousands of people applied and I was perfectly content with my life and career as it was. When they asked me to fill in for a couple of weeks, as they were still looking for their new host, I never in a million years considered it to be a “trial” of any kind – I thought I was just helping them out until they made their decision. Therefore I wasn’t initially going for the job… after a couple of days beside Kevin though, the viewer response was overwhelming – they thought we were a perfect fit and the rest was history.
While I wasn’t too keen on the hours, I still couldn’t refuse working on an incredible show. This was an incredible opportunity I couldn’t pass up. My only condition was that I continued to work on my other love – entertainment (my Star! Daily gig) – and they obliged. I truly feel blessed and am grateful to have been given so many wonderful opportunities at CHUM in such a short time.
I cannot say enough about the BT and Star! Daily teams... it’s beyond amazing! As for the BT team specifically, they make getting up so early in the morning a pleasure. Kevin Frankish has been an incredible coach, mentor and friend from day one and my fellow Italiano Frank Ferragine is the little brother I never had but always wanted. The incredibly lovely Jennifer Valentyne and Tracy Moore are absolute dolls and incredibly trustworthy and supportive (note: a rarity amongst women in this business). Then there’s the hardworking crew, producers and writers that make us all look good. Everyone is truly loving and beautiful, inside and out. There is a natural chemistry between all of us that can’t be manufactured and it shows.
NERVES have never been a problem for me on BT because I’m always so well-prepared by doing my research beforehand. I know the conversation will flow and be natural and so I can have fun with it. BT is also so casual that when we do mess up, we totally call ourselves on it and will be the first to make light of it ourselves! This certainly helps take the fear out of ‘tripping’ up.
That being said, anytime I am doing something “outside of my comfort zone” it can be daunting but the adrenaline starts pumping. For example, the first few moments before stepping onto a stage in front of 40,000 people for the New Year’s Eve Bash at Nathan Phillips Square or hosting a live finale like MuchMusic VJ Search: The Series, there is so much build-up and so many eyes on you and you really want to do the best job you possibly can as host to make sure that everyone has a great time.
I believe it is important to channel the nerves and not let them get the best of you. Instead, I use that ‘pent up’ energy to good by rocking the crowd and more importantly… having fun with it!
I think true confidence is something you have to work long and hard at… and that it MUST come from within! (You can’t rely on others to give it to you). It’s also something you always need to work on at different stages of your career. There will always be people who try to keep you down or tell you “it will never happen” because it’s ‘too big’ a dream… but you must stay focused, work hard, believe in yourself and concentrate on your main goal.
If this is your passion in life, you will have boundless energy to achieve your goal and eventually, your time will come and you will succeed. That was the biggest hurdle I had to get over. I was beginning to internalize what someone was feeding me years ago (that I didn’t have what it took to succeed in this biz). It was only when I believed in myself enough to take the risk, make my demo tape and put myself out there (for rejection), before I landed TWO job offers in three days and well... you know the rest.
GETTING back to my day… after the show, Kevin and I tape on-air promos for what’s coming up on the next Breakfast Television and then I am off running (literally down the hall and up the stairs) to the fourth floor to start taping Star! Daily with my other wonderful on-air partner, Husein Madhavji. I immediately head into the voice-over booth after grabbing a quick snack at the commissary (a girl’s gotta keep up her energy, you know) before heading back into make-up for a quick touch-up and wardrobe change. Then it’s onto the Star! Daily set to tape our show - which tends to run well into the afternoon.
After taping, I get lunch (yes, there is a food theme here… what can I say? I’m a tall Italian girl who LOVES to eat!), then head to my desk to catch up on emails, find out what’s happening on BT and Star! Daily the following day, see what Star! Daily shoots I may be going on that afternoon and do any required research to better help prepare me for the next day’s shows.
After taping, voice-overs, publicity requests and meetings, I generally leave around 2:00 p.m. That’s unless I have a shoot… then my day can run as long as 6:00 p.m. In fact, I just came off two shifts where I worked until 10:00 p.m. but I can’t tell you why – I was on an exciting special assignment that you’ll see soon enough... I’d tell you more if I could (tune in for more details).
After work I head home to feed my fish Indigo (a fish is about all I can handle at the moment). Then I unwind while watching my late night talk shows, Oprah and The Tyra Banks Show.
There’s no question of going out – my only nights out these days are reserved for the weekend. That’s when my hubby and I enjoy nothing more than sitting down for hours over a sumptuous meal and wine. Sotto Sotto is our favourite restaurant (we reserve it for special occasions), but we also love Cocco Lezzone on College.
I also LOVE to dance. I don’t get around to doing it as often as I’d like to with my schedule these days, but I will shake my groove thing for hours on end when I do venture out to a hot spot. I also LOVE spending time with my family. I absolutely adore them all. On weekends, we will spend hours and hours at the dining table talking and laughing, eating and drinking until we’re too tired to continue.
Weekdays, though, the best I can do is whip up something quick for my dinner and I am passed out in bed by 7:00 p.m. Sometimes I may wrestle around until 8:00 p.m. but there are nights where I can barely keep my eyes open past 6:00 p.m! Oh, the glamorous life, hahahahaha!
• Archie D'Cruz is Editor in Chief of Confidence Bound and publisher of Chapter and Verse, a site that throws open the stage to new and upcoming Canadian writers.
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