Christopher Lee uncovered: 5 things you didn't know about his love and work life
Everything you need to know about how (and when) Christopher Lee and Fann Wong got together – now revealed on Toggle’s Dennis Uncovers
Dennis Uncovers featuring Christopher Lee, or read on for our five biggest takeaways from his heart-to-heart sharing session.
#1 He was a factory worker for six years before joining Star Search
We all know how A-do, most famous for his raspy husky singing voice, went from construction worker-to-singer overnight. But here’s a lesser known story about Chris’ humble beginnings – he started working at the age of 10 and was able to fully provide for himself when he turned 13 by doing odd jobs. He eventually left Malaysia and came to Singapore where he worked as a machine operator in a factory for six years, doing bit modelling jobs during his free time.
Before he joined Star Search in 1995, Chris returned to Malaysia where he took on a sales job, because he felt like he was “going nowhere” in Singapore. His good looks caught the attention of director Yuk-Sing Au (he directed shows like Price of Peace and Brave New World) who kept persuading and offering him acting opportunities. After much persuasion, Chris finally took the plunge and signed up for Star Search. The rest as they say is history.
WATCH: How did Chris start his acting career?
#1 He was a factory worker for six years before joining Star Search
We all know how A-do, most famous for his raspy husky singing voice, went from construction worker-to-singer overnight. But here’s a lesser known story about Chris’ humble beginnings – he started working at the age of 10 and was able to fully provide for himself when he turned 13 by doing odd jobs. He eventually left Malaysia and came to Singapore where he worked as a machine operator in a factory for six years, doing bit modelling jobs during his free time.
Before he joined Star Search in 1995, Chris returned to Malaysia where he took on a sales job, because he felt like he was “going nowhere” in Singapore. His good looks caught the attention of director Yuk-Sing Au (he directed shows like Price of Peace and Brave New World) who kept persuading and offering him acting opportunities. After much persuasion, Chris finally took the plunge and signed up for Star Search. The rest as they say is history.
WATCH: How did Chris start his acting career?
they were first idolised on TV screens as the ‘it’ pairing of local dramas. Fann and Chris have worked together and romanced each other umpteenth times so much so that no one knows for sure when exactly they started dating. Some say it was in 2002 while many believed sparks flew on the set of Return of the Condor Heroes in 1998. Wrong.
According to Chris, they only got together while working on Looking for Stars in 2000. Prior to that they were both seeing other people and only started dating after their respective relationships ended. Before they became an item, they were good friends who hung out often at Passion, their beloved ‘Ah Bu’ (or David Gan’s) hair salon.
Million dollar question: when did Chris start viewing Fann as girlfriend material?
“When I saw how she interacted with her family members and I was really envious of their relationship. Her parents, sisters and younger brother - everyone behaves like friends, teasing and joking with each other… I wanted a family like hers and I tried to improve my relationship with my family too… she’s someone who really loves her family and then it dawned on me, at that point, I had my eye on her.”
According to Chris, they only got together while working on Looking for Stars in 2000. Prior to that they were both seeing other people and only started dating after their respective relationships ended. Before they became an item, they were good friends who hung out often at Passion, their beloved ‘Ah Bu’ (or David Gan’s) hair salon.
Million dollar question: when did Chris start viewing Fann as girlfriend material?
“When I saw how she interacted with her family members and I was really envious of their relationship. Her parents, sisters and younger brother - everyone behaves like friends, teasing and joking with each other… I wanted a family like hers and I tried to improve my relationship with my family too… she’s someone who really loves her family and then it dawned on me, at that point, I had my eye on her.”
Photos: Instagram/Fann Wong
#5 He and Fann had subdued reactions when they found out they were expecting
Ever since Fann and Chris got hitched, all attention was diverted to the couple’s plans for kids. For five full years before Zed came along, the media asked them about their baby-making plans at every opportunity. And when they finally scored double lines on the pregnancy kit, they were extremely cautious about making a big fuss (after a previous false alarm) and made a trip to the clinic to do a blood test instead. The results came back positive and a nurse tearfully broke the news to the still poker-faced couple.
“We didn’t dare to react because things were still not stable,” Chris explained. “When we returned home, we were still very calm and we didn’t know how excited each other felt inside. Only after the third month, when things were more settled and after [Zed] was born did it feel real.”
After going through five years of media scrutiny before they conceived their first child, Chris is less forgiving when it comes to questions about giving Zed a sibling because of the unnecessary stress it brings his wife. He once flared up at a reporter who kept pressing them with questions about trying for baby no. 2 because he saw how Fann went from someone yearning for a child to someone who felt useless in those years before they had Zed.
“Women have it harder than men… I’m afraid of giving her more hurt… We spoke about it, if we only have Zed Zed, we would still be very grateful to the heavens for giving us such a cute child. We just want to give him a playmate now, but we also know how tough it is and we won’t ask for more,” he said.
Watch Dennis Uncovers on Toggle, new episode every Thursday.
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Throwback with TV sweethearts: Fann Wong, Christopher Lee
