Ada Choi Says TVB Paid Her S$3.5K To Act In A Drama For 4 Months When She Was A Newbie

Ada, who has shifted the focus of her career to China, revealed that she used to take home “HK$500 (S$85) for a show” when she joined TVB after finishing third in the 1991 Miss Hong Kong pageant.

“If [I were] the lead actress in a 20-episode drama and had scenes in every episode, [I would] only get HK$20,000 (S$3,500),” said the 47-year-old. According to reports, a drama of that length would take over four months to shoot.

Monica, who was crowned Miss Hong Kong in 1989, shared that she earned a fixed salary which was “very low”. And apparently, that number didn’t increase for a long time.

“After many years, I met a new Miss Hong Kong winner and I asked her how much her monthly salary was. I didn't expect that after so many years, her salary would be exactly the same as mine!" Monica, 54, said.

As for Athena, who started acting before she graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 1992, her pay as a TVB rookie was HK$8,000 (S$1,400) a month.

What was revealed triggered much discussion online, with many netizens saying they were not surprised by the claims.

"TVB is famous for squeezing its employees dry,” said one netizen.

Photos: Ada Choi/Weibo, Athena Chu/Weibo, Monica Chan/Weibo