Sharon Au: People thought I was a traitor in the media war but I'm actually the big winner

When broadcaster SPH MediaWorks was set up in 2000 and attracted several prominent Mediacorp artistes to join their ranks, it was a media war that would be told for years to come.

And former actress-host Sharon Au was caught in the middle of it, along with her fellow colleagues (at that time) Kym Ng and Bryan Wong.

In the most recent episode of the meWATCH talkshow Hear U Out, the 45-year-old shared her side of the story — including how people saw her as a traitor for staying with Mediacorp and how she walked out of the 'war' as the biggest winner.

Due to the tough competition and the fight for celebrity talents at that time, Sharon said that Mediacorp offered its artistes whatever they wanted in a bid to get them to stay.

"If you wanted a custom-made drama, it would be done. If you wanted to host your own show, it would be done. We really had whatever we wanted back then."

And since she regretted not going to university to further her studies, she asked Mediacorp for a scholarship and nothing else. The company was surprised by her request and asked if she wanted to act in movies and television series, release an album or host her own show instead.

Sharon added: "I said, 'No. I want the scholarship.' I knew they couldn't give me what I wanted so I was very happy. But in the end, they told me to give them 24 hours. They told me not to make any rash decisions and they would get back to me in 24 hours."

The turn of events threw a wrench in her plans as, according to Sharon, "we had all agreed to leave together to create a new world". Her colleagues also knew that this would be a game-changer for Sharon as she was a bookworm and was always reading on set.

In the end, Mediacorp acceded to her request and she decided to stay while other celebs — like Kym, Bryan, Darren Lim, and Guo Liang — joined MediaWorks. In the four years that followed, Sharon's fame as a variety show host grew as she won awards every year and she delayed her studies to continue hosting.

ALSO READ: Sharon Au is staying put in Paris despite country's Covid-19 lockdown and brutal attacks

As luck would have it, Mediacorp and MediaWorks merged in 2004 and Sharon announced that she was leaving to pursue her studies in 2005, leading people to speculate that she was 'fleeing'. However, it was just a coincidence, she clarified. There was a deadline to her scholarship and she had to use it by 2005.

Hear U Out host Quan Yi Fong then asked Sharon if she felt like she was the "ultimate winner" of this entire media war as she boarded the plane to Japan for her studies.

Sharon replied: "The feeling was very rooted and real because after talking about the scholarship for five years, I finally got it and I was finally on the plane. I really did feel like a big winner."

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bryanlim@asiaone.com