Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Playboy centerfold-turned-reality TV staple Bridget Marquardt, whose new Travel Channel series, Bridget's Sexiest Beaches, premieres tonight. The interview will appear in the May issue of Muscle & Body magazine, available in late April nationally at Vitamin Shoppe stores and at www.muscleandbodymag.com.
Bridget's no dumb bunny, and at age 35, she's ready to take on the world--literally. Bridget's Sexiest Beaches , which runs weekly through May 28 (with a "Best of" airing on June 4), sees the bubbly babe showing off her bikini-clad body as well as her masters degree in communication and continuing UCLA education in broadcast journalism. While her former Girls live-in Holly Madison sets the ballroom on fire in this season's Dancing with the Stars, Bridget will take viewers on adventures in Thailand, Spain, Costa Rico and--fitting for its California-girl host--even in good old Santa Monica and Venice, Calif.
Her Muscle & Body cover story/photo spread exposes Bridget's super-hot workout and Hef-worthy curves, along with her enterprising spirit. Here are a few outtakes from that interview:
This show really was crafted around your personality and your physicality. Have you been able to give your input to the producers?
Absolutely. [Executive producer] Kevin [Burns] and I are really close. When I was doing DVD commentary for The Girls Next Door, he showed me a clip of (Beaches) and we talked a lot about it. I’m also a producer on the show, so I have a lot of say on what’s working and what’s not working and what else we should do. On location, is some places there are communication breakdowns because of language barriers. We also have the weather to worry about. We were kind of following the hurricane a couple of weeks ago. We were in Turks & Caicos and Jamaica and were supposed to go to Grand Cayman but it got hit by the hurricane the day before we got there. We had to think on our feet.
What’s the future of The Girls Next Door?
There is a sixth season. We’ve shot a couple of things that we’ll need for continuity that will make sense when we do start filming. Nobody is exactly sure what direction it’s gonna take yet, as things are kind of in transition right now. We’re gonna wait it out and probably start filming in May. We’ll wait till the dust settles and see where everybody’s at and what direction the show’s gonna go. It’s kind of a mystery to everyone. Hef and I are still very close and everything...
Do you want to take off as a host and actress?
I’m actually hoping that (hosting) is more of a career for me. I’m hoping there’s Bridget’s Sexiest Beaches 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 … and if it’s not beaches, it’s Bridget’s Sexiest Roadside Attractions. I love traveling and I love hosting, so this is the ideal job for me.
As far as acting, I just produced my own horror movie [The Telling], which will be out in April. I starred in part of it. I really enjoy acting, though I don’t see it as my speciality or anything that I’m overly good at. But I especially like working behind the camera, and I like producing.
