PUBLISHED ONDecember 13, 2022 7:25 AMByDrima ChakrabortyA good drama always gets you immersed in another world, making you wish you could be like the characters in the show.
Host-actress Juin Teh and her friends are no different.
On the latest episode of the Mediacorp YouTube show #JustSwipeLah, she interviewed TVB general manager and veteran actor Eric Tsang as well as actors Kenneth Ma and Elaine Yiu, who were in Singapore recently for the Asian TV Awards gala dinner on Dec 8.
Juin told them that the storylines in TVB dramas would make her and her friends “want to be in that profession”.
“When my friends heard that I was going to interview the three of you, they said that in the past, when they watched TVB dramas, if they watched police dramas, they’d also want to be police officers,” the 32-year-old said.
Eric, 69, quipped: “That’s great! We’re going to have a show with dance hostesses, see if you want to be a hostess after watching it.”
Juin took the joke in stride, wondering if it had started filming yet. Unfortunately for her, Eric said the drama has completed filming and was going to be released soon. He did assure Juin that she would do well and “be very popular” at future castings.
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Eric shared more about this upcoming drama with the working title Yi Wu Qing Cheng: “Many artistes will be working together, showcasing Hong Kong in the ‘80s when night life was at its prime.”
Elaine added that she plays a mamasan, a woman in charge of the hostesses working in a nightclub. She added that she has two identities in the drama and “you’ll know when you watch it”.
The 42-year-old continued: “I really liked it when we were filming, because it really followed the actual locations [of the night life] in the past. When we went to film, the place was magnificent.”
When Juin asked about how Elaine is stepping away from her usual action roles, Eric came in with another signature dirty joke. He mentioned that there are fighting scenes, both physical and “fighting on the bed”. Elaine confirmed that there would be “bold scenes” but mostly between the younger actors.
“She did request for the director to add scenes,” Eric said.
Elaine laughed in return: “No, I didn’t!”
It’s not just Elaine who is stepping out of her usual roles, but Kenneth as well. The 48-year-old recently finished filming the role of a police officer for the upcoming drama The Invisibles.
He said: “I hadn’t filmed an action drama in a while, so to me, it was quite a challenge.”
Juin noticed that the roles Kenneth plays most frequently are doctors, and Eric joked: “He has played them so often that patients are looking for him, asking to be treated, and he has to tell them he’s not a [real] doctor.”
Eric also mentioned Kenneth would be acting in another upcoming drama titled Speakers of Law, which is set to release in 2023. In the legal thriller, he will be playing the head of a law firm.
“I’ll be changing up my acting style this time,” Kenneth confirmed.
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Eric said he had not been in Singapore for nearly a decade, while Elaine and Kenneth hadn’t visited since before the pandemic, and they all had things they wanted to do.
Elaine said: “I want to eat pandan cake the most. The moment I landed, my fans had already bought some for me.” She was also looking forward to going for a run to “experience the local atmosphere” and take in the nature Singapore had to offer.
Kenneth said: “I love eating seafood the most, and I love coming to Singapore to sing.”
Does this mean we could get a TVB concert in Singapore?
“I want that too, we should ask our boss,” laughed Kenneth, pointing at Eric.
drimac@asiaone.com
