Anne Curtis appears to cringe as she mistakenly says the name of a contestant in the ‘KapareWho’ segment of ‘It’s Showtime.’ ABS-CBN

MANILA — For in-demand stars like Anne Curtis, the adage, “The show must go on” is something applied on a daily basis — even if that means juggling roles with little to no sleep in between.

A mainstay of “It’s Showtime,” Curtis fulfilled her hosting duties on the noontime program Tuesday afternoon, after having just wrapped an out-of-town film shoot which took place overnight.

Prior to her live appearance on the Kapamilya show, Curtis made light of the situation through an Instagram post, apologizing in advance to viewers of “It’s Showtime” for being “sabaw,” due to having no wink of sleep, when she does take the stage.

Curtis, who has endeared herself as a “National Sweetheart” with her self-deprecating humor and “baliw” (crazy) antics, was candid about her state of mind as she greeted the studio audience — a subject that became a running joke for the remainder of the “It’s Showtime” telecast.

Throughout the program, Curtis was not spared from teasing by her co-hosts as she stammered repeatedly. Vice Ganda wondered, in jest, what her mother tongue actually is — Curtis was born in Australia, but learned Filipino as an actress — while Mariel Padilla credited her for the top trending spot of the show on Twitter.

“When your brain and tongue are [no] longer in sync from lack of sleep,” Curtis tweeted with a laughing emoji after the show, in response to a clip of one of her tongue-tied moments.

At one point, she was also seen staring into space, not realizing she was onscreen. “‘Yung akala mo hindi nakabuton sa ‘yo ang camera. Puyat and antok real today!” she replied to another video capturing that instance.

Curtis’ self-described “bulol” tendency has long been a subject of jokes on “It’s Showtime” throughout its decade on air, so much so that a compilation of her “entries” was shown in celebration of the program’s anniversary.