Jeanette Aw Slept For Only 2.5 Hours A Day For 4 Months When Filming The Little Nyonya In 2008

In the latest #JustSwipeLah episode, host Seow Sin Nee met with Jeanette Aw, 45, and Zhang Zetong, 32, who star as mother and son in The Little Nyonya’s highly anticipated spin-off, Emerald Hill.

The trio took a walk down Jalan Jawa in Malacca, which was one of the main filming locations for the iconic 2008 drama.

The street is also known as ‘Singapore Street’ as its buildings bear resemblance to olden-day Singapore. 

Jeanette reminisced about her time working on The Little Nyonya, and the back-breaking schedule she had playing both Huang Juxiang and Yamamoto Yueniang.

She will be reprising her role as Yueniang in Emerald Hill. 

Jeanette talked about how each particular scene was shot at different locations, some on set in Singapore and some at Jalan Jawa. 

Due to continuity, she would sometimes have to film half a scene in Malacca, and pick up that scene on set in Singapore.

The show revolved around Juxiang and Yueniang’s story, which meant that Jeanette had to shuttle between all the filming locations in Malacca, Penang, Ipoh, and Singapore.

Recalling her packed timetable, Jeanette said: “For four and a half months, I filmed every day. When I was shooting Juxiang’s part of the drama, I started filming first. We filmed for a month before the other cast members joined in.”

“So I had already been through a battle and I was very tired. When they joined us, they [looked] wow, so fresh!” she laughed. 

She was in almost all the scenes and recalled sleeping only two and a half hours every day during those four and a half months. 

The group also visited the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum, which was the set for the Huang family's ancestral home.

Jeanette remembered how her character was made to kneel in front of a plaque that hung on a wall as punishment. 

Speaking of the scene where Juxiang was caned by Xiufeng, played by Pan Lingling, Jeanette said: “They put a wooden board behind my back to protect me. They tied a lot of canes together, and Lingling-jie caned me repeatedly. The string that tied the canes broke, so some strokes really hit me.”

Emerald Hill will debut simultaneously on mewatch and Netflix on Mar 10. It will then premiere on Ch 8 on Mar 19 at 9pm.

You can watch the full #JustSwipeLah episode with Jeanette and Zetong below.