Ayako Iguchi will be appearing as the MC on ABC TV's program "Marudori ~Just Between Us~" (Kansai local), which began airing on February 7th. It is a late-night talk variety show where she, along with Yuichi Nakamaru and Dorian Lollobrigida, delves into the unknown anecdotes of the guests. "The charm of the show is that everyone is really 'outspoken'," Iguchi said of the show.
Iguchi is 28 years old and was born on March 24th, 1997 in Kanagawa Prefecture. While attending university, she won second place in the Miss Aoyama Contest, and has been active in the entertainment industry as a gravure model. Currently, in addition to her work as a talent, she is also involved in the management of her family business, Excel Beauty Salon. She also regularly airs the radio program "Iguchi Ayako will run" (Nippon Broadcasting System), which focuses on business succession.
As a result, "Marudori" will be Iguchi's first "full-scale variety show" in a long time.
"Recently I've been doing a lot of serious work, so appearing on a variety show for the first time in a while really felt like I had regained my old sense of humor. I also remembered, 'Oh, that's right. I didn't know variety shows would ask me so many questions.'"
Nakamaru is a former member of the well-known popular group KAT-TUN, Dorian is a drag queen, and together with Iguchi, the three MCs make an unusual combination.
"Nakamaru-san has a mysterious aura about him that makes him very warm and fuzzy. He doesn't seem to talk much during the recording, but his choice of words is excellent. He says things that make you laugh, or kind words that make the guests feel understood, and I learn a lot from him. My first impression of Dorian-san was, 'He's huge!' He teased me from the beginning, so it was really easy to work with him. He teases me, but there's also love in it. But he's also clear when he needs to say something, and having Dorian-san there really tightens the show, and I can sense his intelligence."
The concept of the show is to get guests to reveal secrets, which sometimes requires them to reveal themselves. In fact, on the first episode (which did not have a guest), Iguchi spoke about the controversy that erupted when she competed in the Miss Aoyama pageant, and while denying that she staged the incident, she reflected on herself at the time as "an annoying woman."
"It would be a lie to say I have no reservations about talking about myself, but conversely, there are some things I wouldn't talk about unless I was asked in detail, and some things I wouldn't bring up on my own. I felt like Dorian and Nakamaru were able to bring that out in me in their own way. I was quite anxious before the broadcast, thinking, 'I want to make lots of announcements, but what if they see it and say something again?' But the reactions were relatively good, so I'm glad they were able to bring that out."
When asked again about the appeal of the program...
"It's aired late at night, and although it can be viewed nationwide on TVer, it's only broadcast on terrestrial TV in the Kansai region, so the guests seem to talk a little deeper. As listeners, we can use the concept of the show as an excuse to ask questions and express our opinions, even in places where on other shows we might feel it would be rude to ask too much, so the appeal is that everyone is really forthright, and I hope to draw out as much as possible from the guests and the two MCs."
