"Be Careful With My Heart" star Richard Yap is now a certified kapamilya as he recently signed a two-year exclusive contract with ABS-CBN. Richard is best known now to TV viewers as Sir Chief, the strict but caring boss of Yaya Maya, played by Jodi Sta. Maria.

In the said contract signing, the 45-year-old actor shared his reaction to comments describing him as the newest and hottest heartthrobs today, like Kapamilya teen sensation Daniel Padilla. “I won’t call myself a heartthrob,” said Richard. “I don’t even consider myself as an extra-ordinary handsome guy. Because the standards of being handsome before was mestizo and Chinese-looking men were never in demand.”

But with or without a ttitle, Richard remains thankful for the undying support of his fans who made their kilig-serye the no.1 daytime TV program in the country. “I’m so grateful for all their love,” he expressed. “It really feels great everytime I see them in mall shows and other special events.. It’s their way of showing their appreciation and I appreciate them so much for that.”

When asked about his off-screen relationship with Jodi, Richard shared that it easy to get along with her leading lady. “It’s just so nice working with Jodi because she’s so down-to-earth,” he narrated. “From the beginning, it was not hard for us to jive because we have things in common–we both went to pre-med school, we both like doing videoke, and we kid around a lot in the set.”

Now that Rafi (Maricar Reyes) is around, will Maya and Sir Chief’s love story continue to flourish or will the ‘magic’ suddenly disappear?

Catch “Be Careful With My Heart,” everyday, 10:45am, before “It’s Showtime” on ABS-CBN’s Prime-Tanghali. Also, don’t miss “Be Careful With My Heart Sabado Rewind” every Saturday, 10am, before “It’s Showtime.”

For more updates, log on to www.abs-cbn.com, follow @becarefulheart on Twitter; and ‘like’ the show’s official Facebook fanpage at www.facebook.com/becarefulwithmyheartofficial.