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TVB’s warehoused series The Greatness of a Hero 《盛世仁傑》will finally be premiering in HK on April 2nd (Monday). [TN: the series was produced in 2008 and has already aired overseas multiple times; it will be airing in HK for the first time next week after being ‘shelved’ for close to 4 years] . The first promotional event for the series is scheduled to be held on Saturday (3/31), however two of the series’ female leads -- Bernice Liu (廖碧兒) and Leila Tong (唐寧) – have already left TVB and signed with a rival television station, while the other lead actress Sonjia Kwok (郭羡妮) is currently 7 months pregnant -- plus male lead Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) is busy filming TVB series The Confidant 《大太監》in Hengdian [China] at the moment; therefore, it was reported that originally, only male leads Kent Cheng (鄭則士) and Sunny Chan (陳錦鴻) as well as artists with minor roles in the series such as Tracy Ip (葉翠翠), Queenie Chu (朱慧敏), etc. were scheduled to attend the promotional event. Due to the lack of female leads on hand to promote the series, the production team urgently requested that 2 of its pregnant actresses – Sonjia Kwok and Claire Yiu (姚嘉妮) – participate in tomorrow’s promotional event.

Ever since she became pregnant, Sonjia Kwok has mostly been resting at home, preparing for the arrival of her child – however due to the lack of female artists, she has agreed to participate in The Greatness of a Hero’s promotional event: “Actually, if it weren’t for this extraordinary circumstance, I generally would not attend public events at this point because I’m already 7 months along [with the pregnancy] and so far have gained 30 pounds – my belly is truly very big right now. However, since a series that I participated in will be airing, I do have an obligation to help with the promotional efforts. I know that a few of the artists have left the company, plus producer Leung Choi Yuen (梁材遠) has always been very good to me, so I don’t mind helping out the best I can with the promotion.” Asked about her current situation, Sonjia replied: “I’ve never gained this much weight before! Now, whenever I go out with my mom, I walk a lot slower than her – it’s like I’m an old lady walking very slowly behind her.”

As for actress Claire Yiu, who is currently pregnant with her second child, she has also agreed to attend the promotional event for the series: “As an artist, it’s necessary for us to participate in the promotions for the series. Even if the others [Bernice, Leila, etc.] are able to attend the event, I would still participate in the promotional efforts because I’m part of the cast.”

Towards the action of requesting two pregnant actresses to return for promotional efforts, the series’ producer Leung Choi Yuen expressed: “We didn’t have much of a choice, since a few of the artists already joined other television stations. With that said though, both Ken Gor (Kent Cheng) as well as Sunny [Chan] will be on hand for the first promotional event, plus Wayne will return to HK to participate in the second promotional event on the 14th (April 14th).”

TVB’s director of external affairs Tsang Sing Ming revealed that the series will hold 2 promotional events total and there are no plans to invite Bernice Liu or Leila Tong to participate: “A few of the lead artists have already joined another organization and since TVB respects the spirit of the contract, we will not bother them. However, we are very grateful that Sonjia Kwok is willing to help out during this time, given her situation. Wayne also put in a lot of effort – prior to leaving for China to film The Confidant, he spent 2 days interviewing with various Media outlets as well as with our own “The Green Room” program to help promote The Greatness of a Hero.”

Currently filming a series in China, Bernice Liu was asked whether she would attend the promotional events for The Greatness of a Hero, to which she replied through her manager: “They [TVB] have not contacted me, however if there is a need, I would consider helping out.”

Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2264
Translated by: llwy12 @ AsianFanatics