SINGAPORE — About 70 veteran actors and backstage crew members met for a nostalgic afternoon last Saturday (Sept 23), with former actor Xie Shaoguang making a rare public appearance.

Local actress Chen Xiuhuan and former actor Wu Weiqiang shared on social media last Saturday several photos of the Mid-Autumn Festival gathering held at a restaurant that day. The festival falls on Sept 29 in 2023.

"At Caldecott Hill during the 1980s, there used to be a group of colleagues in front of and behind the cameras at the TV station which produced a number of TV series, sitcoms and TV movies for Singaporean TV audiences," Wu wrote in Chinese on Facebook last Saturday, under the title, "Mid-Autumn gathering with old colleagues from SBC".

"These well-known dramas may still remain in the minds of audiences, and the actors from those years may still be remembered by them."

SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) and later TCS (Television Corporation of Singapore) were precursors of Mediacorp.

Caldecott Hill was where the Singapore broadcaster was previously located. It has since moved to 1 Stars Avenue.

Wu, 76, said the old colleagues still meet from time to time and reminisce about their time at work. 

Among the artistes who met last Saturday were still-active actors such as Pan Lingling, Jin Yinji and Wang Yuqing.

There were also familiar faces such as Xie, Tang Hu, Yang Libing, Hong Guorui, Zhang Jinhua and Jin Jugong.

Wu shared several videos of the gathering on Facebook, including those of former TV host Zhu Yongqing conducting a charades game on TV show titles.

Xie, 62, a five-time Best Actor winner at the Star Awards, was seen in one of the videos raising his five fingers and pointing to his right leg.

Those present quickly guessed that it was Five Foot Way, the 1987 drama starring the late Huang Wenyong, Wang, Huang Peiru and Ye Sumei.

Chen, 57, who said on social media that it was a lively gathering, told Shin Min Daily News that she chatted briefly with Xie. He has kept a low profile since he left show business and moved to Malaysia.

"I asked him what he was doing recently, and he said he was not doing much," she told the Chinese-language newspaper. "I remember meeting him twice when I went mountain climbing in recent years, so I asked him if he still climbs mountains. He said 'yes'."

Former actor Chen Xiang said he has been organising these gatherings since 2016.

"Everyone was busy with their families in middle age, but now that the children have grown up and they have more time, I took the opportunity to hold the gatherings," he said, adding that he contacted his former colleagues through Facebook.

He said he organised the get-togethers for two years before Jaslyn Theen took over, with the gatherings now mainly organised by Hong.

He added that Xie has returned to Singapore, although he was not sure how long Xie will be staying here.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.