The Stars Remember Caldecott Hill

Chen Liping: “This bench has a lot of memories for me. In the past, my good friend (former Ch 8 actress) Zeng Huifeng and I would sit there after filming and just talk about our day. There’s the view too. You overlook the entire Caldecott Hill and you see the people and vehicles come in and out. It’s therapeutic.”

Shaun Chen: “This is the best place to pak tor. My ex-wife (Michelle Chia) and I used to sit in our car and just chitchat. I don’t think many people know this ’cos we used to just park in a secluded spot and relax. Yes, relax only.”

Rebecca Lim: “There are a lot of long breaks in-between filming and you just want a quiet place where you can read your script. I used to go to my grandma’s house, which is a five-minute drive away, until I found the meeting rooms. They’re always empty! I’ll buy food from the canteen, lock myself in any one of the rooms, and read and rest. The best thing is that there’s a very nice pantry lady there who’ll make me a coffee when she sees me.”

Jeanette Aw: “I don’t really have a favourite place, but I’ll never forget this studio. I was filming Beautiful Connection (2002) with Zhu Mimi and Huang Biren here, and when we watched the playback, we heard this loud female sigh. The sound guy said he didn’t hear it during filming. We were really freaked out and Mimi started praying to ‘calm’ the spirit. It was so scary!”

Ian Fang: “I hit the gym at midnight ’cos I’m very skinny so I’m quite shy about my body. There’s no one around at that time so I can shout all the vulgarities I want. I go ‘F*** everyone who thinks I can’t grow big!’ when I’m lifting weights.”

Chen Hanwei: “A lot of filming goes on at Studio 6, and those of us in the know will head out to this corner during breaks. It’s a very quiet place that overlooks the satellite dishes. It’s where I go to hide out when I’m tired. I’ve also cried at that place twice over the years while talking on the phone. Once, when I talked to Huang Biren about my health issues, and another, when I shared with Zoe Tay my relationship problems.”

Guo Liang: “I do a lot of ‘live’ shows in the TV Theatre. To prepare myself before each show, I would come a few hours earlier and while away my time in this toilet. There isn’t a single soul around so I can do anything I want, like sit with my legs open, or even walk around the toilet without my pants, or just take a dump. It sounds weird, but those moments calm me.”

Qi Yuwu: “This is my favourite stall, and I eat the same thing every time which is beef with bittergourd and si jap (black bean sauce). Seriously, if you tell her, ‘I want to order what Qi Yuwu eats’ she’ll know what you’re talking about.’ [Ed: It’s true. We tried it and it works.]”