Ada Choi suffered miscarriage before filming Empresses in the Palace

We almost were denied of Ada Choi's superb acting as the vicious and cunning matriarch in the highly popular period series Empresses in the Palace.

In a stunning revelation on the latest episode of reality show My Dearest Ladies, the Hong Kong actress let on that she suffered a miscarriage not long before she was cast in the palace drama.

As if that weren't enough to scupper her show-stealing turn as the empress, Ada then got pregnant with her eldest daughter Zoe during production.

"It was on the night of my costume fitting for the drama that I discovered I was pregnant. My husband (actor Max Zhang) was so happy that he couldn't sleep for the whole night," the 45-year-old recalled.

Again, she soldiered on without breaking the news to the cast and crew.

Ada was 38 years old at the time, which meant that it was a high-risk pregnancy, with added complications of a miscarriage just six months prior.

She considered backing out of the project to stay home and focus on her pregnancy, but decided that her role was doable.

After all, the empress was mostly seated, and when standing or moving around, she was helped by the show's palace maids.

Another gamble she took was to keep the pregnancy a secret to avoid causing inconvenience to the crew and compromising standards.

Fans are now praising the mother of two for her professionalism.

Ada and Max are both cast members on My Dearest Ladies, which sees male stars travelling with their wives and mothers.

The couple married in 2008.

asiaone@mm2entertainment.com