Love rules local showbiz in 2009
December 29, 2009
THE year 2009 can be best described as a year of love for local showbiz, as you’d see from U-Weekly’s list of the biggest news in entertainment.
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1. New love
There’s an adage that true love transcends all boundaries. For 56-year-old radio DJ and compere Marcus Chin, that was certainly the case when he fell in love with his assistant, Eileen Xie, 24.
He divorced his wife of 23 years and a fierce tussle broke out between them over alimony issues.
They took their case to the family court, and judges declared that Marcus needs to pay his wife $3,000 a month.
2. Fake or not?
Think before you crack your jokes.
That’s the lesson television host Dasmond Koh, 37, learnt after shooting his mouth off and getting into a fix.
During an interview, he blurted out to reporters that he is ‘sure that Felicia (Chin) has had stuff done on her upper body’.
His statement created an instant furore and Dasmond was called in by his MediaCorp bosses who demanded an explanation.
He subsequently apologised for his ‘unintentional joke’.
Felicia, one of MediaCorp’s highly-lauded Seven Princesses, took the comment in her stride.
She was back on talking terms with Dasmond at a recent press conference.
3. Contrasting marriages
There were several celebrity marriages this year.
Lovebirds Fann Wong and Christopher Lee and Michelle Chia and Shaun Chen had high-profile weddings with televised coverage, brand name sponsors and both bride and groom decked out in grandeur.
In comparison, actress-host Kym Ng’s union with her hubby was more subtle and private.
Not only did she not reveal her husband’s full name (he is known only as Mr Yang and isn’t from the entertainment scene), there was no lavish wedding dinner following their overseas solemnisation in October.
4. Relocating for love
Sexy bombshell Fiona Xie, 27, had her own share of shocking news.
In July, she hastily pulled out from the ensemble cast of year-end blockbuster series Together, sparking talk of pregnancy. After lying low for a while, she revealed that she has officially left MediaCorp.
She is currently based in Hong Kong with her Aussie-American boyfriend. One of the main reasons she didn’t want to be part of Together was that ‘there were too many intimate scenes, which he (the boyfriend) didn’t like’.
Ah, such is the power of love.
Fiona will continue to participate in MediaCorp projects on a contract basis.
5. Great boost
Kudos to Joanne Peh, 26, for being the first of MediaCorp’s Seven Princesses to bag a Best Actress accolade during March’s Star Awards.
Joanne was also nominated in the same category, alongside veterans Zoe Tay, Fann Wong and Hong Kong’s Michelle Yim, at the recent Asian Television Awards.
Overall, it has been a smooth-sailing year for the lass.
Other than her career achievements, she admitted to reporters that she is dating US actor Bobby Tonelli, her co-star in drama series Little Nyonya.
This article was translated from the latest issue of U-Weekly.
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