Ex TVB Actress Kiko Leung Thanks TVB For Letting Her Play “Prostitutes & Mistresses”, Reveals Why She Quit The Company After 9 Years

There have been a number of former TVB artistes who leave the station on a sour note and who go on to regale the public with stories of how they were 'mistreated' there. Ngan Kwok Leung and Evergreen Mak are just two who come to mind.

Joining that disgruntled group is actress Kiko Leung Yan who recenty revealed her reason for not renewing her contract.

Over her nine-year career as a TVB artiste, the 27-year-old played mainly bit roles and was most recently seen acting as a secretary in long-form drama Come Home Love: Lo And Behold.

In an Instagram post on Oct 30, Kiko threw major shade at TVB by writing: “In the past nine years, the company has allowed me to take on different roles. I’ve played prostitutes, gold diggers, mistresses, and characters that are just pretty faces. I’m really grateful to the company to have given me such roles to express myself and leave a deep impression on the viewers. My gratitude [towards them] knows no bounds.”

Kiko shared, “Before my current contract was up, someone from the company called me to discuss a new one. They hinted that I wasn’t taking on enough shows, but when I looked back at my schedule [for the year], I felt like I did.”

She added that she had questions about how TVB calculated her workload, but that her query was perceived as a challenge to the company.

In Hongkong entertainment, a ‘show’ is a broad term that includes variety programmes, performances, event appearances, acting projects and advertisements.

A one-hour drama episode is the equivalent of two shows and a half-hour variety show is equivalent to one show.

According to Kiko, TVB had offered her a contract with no basic salary because she did not act in enough projects. Kiko then revealed that it was the company that had gradually reduced her output over the years. While they used to offer her 100 shows a year, she now gets “60 to 70” show offers a year despite requesting to get cast more.

She also said that she was subject to "nasty remarks" during contract negotiations, and would be forced to listen to "demeaning comments" as well.

Ultimately, Kiko declined to sign a new contract with TVB as she did not want to be “insulted” and “ruined” by the company any longer.

Netizens have since called TVB out for “not knowing how to appreciate talented actors”. They also said that the station is “headed for failure because of how badly they treat artistes who have been loyal for years”.