MANILA – Filipinos know Catriona Gray to be a woman who inspires a lot of people with her eloquence and confidence every time she’s on stage.

The former Miss Universe, however, admitted that being on ABS-CBN shows like “ASAP” and “It’s Showtime” actually makes her quite nervous.

“May bagong aspect in nervousness... I am used to walking on stage, talking on stage but when it comes to singing, I haven’t had that much experience pa so it gives me a little bit of nerves pa,” she said in an interview on Monday.

“But I feel that the more that I do it, the more sanay I will become to being on stage and performing. I really welcome the opportunities to learn and to grow. I am very thankful to have had these opportunities so far this year,” she continued.

With these new breaks, Gray also hopes to be more fluent in speaking Filipino.

“I really want to try my best to be fluent or at least at the best of my ability to converse with the Filipino people. Also in line with my advocacy, I do wish eventually to be able to tour around and give talks and I feel like it would be easier to comprehend, in the provinces especially, if I were fluent. It’s really something I am working on,” she said.

On Sunday, Gray celebrated her birthday on “ASAP” by performing with the kids of Young Focus Philippines, the organization which she personally supports.

Her birthday festivities continued on Monday when she was launched as the newest guest host of “It’s Showtime.”

When asked how was her experience on the noontime show, she said: “Sobrang masaya. Of course, it’s my birthday today so it’s a very special day for me. It’s a really amazing way for me to spend time with my fans and with the madlang people and also this whole week. I know I will be in good spirits.”

She also has a pretty simple personal birthday wish that involves her family.

“My personal birthday wish is that I hope this year I spend a lot of time with my dad. He’s getting quite old now so it’s become very apparent to me that I really should be allocating time for him. Of course, in this position, it’s a very busy life. Time can pass so fast. It’s really important to remind myself to stay close to my family and give them time also,” she said.

Gray turned 26 on Monday.