Yvonne Lim Recalls Classic Scene From 1999 Drama Stepping Out; Her Husband Says She Should Not Let Their Kids Watch It
Fans of Mediacorp dramas in the ‘90s will definitely remember Stepping Out. (P/S: We're also sure its theme song by Taiwanese rockers Power Station is playing in your head now too.)
The period epic, which starts off in the 1920s and spans three decades, follows the lives of a group of Chinese immigrants in Singapore.
Stepping Out boasted an all-star cast — Xie Shaoguang, Terence Cao, Cynthia Koh, Tay Ping Hui, Ivy Lee, Chunyu Shan Shan and Yvonne Lim — and it swept almost all the professional category awards it was nominated for at the Star Awards in 1999.
Shaoguang won Best Actor, Cynthia won Best Actress, and Ping Hui was named Best Supporting Actor. The drama also won Best Drama Serial and Best Theme Song (see what we mean?).
Cynthia Koh famously shaved her head for her role as Hong Dou
Recently, the drama, which is also available on meWATCH, is being telecast on Ch 8 every weekday at 5:30pm.
And a number of viewers have been posting snaps of the show on Instagram and tagging the cast, like Yvonne, 45.
Who could ever forget this scene?
Yvonne, who is now based in Taiwan with her family, posted a clip of the scene on her IG Story and said that it's something she “will never forget”.
The Star Search 1997 alum shared that she was still a relative newbie then.
“I didn’t know that I had sensitive skin, and to shoot this scene, we had to take two hours to do the special-effects make-up, and then an additional hour to remove it. It caused me to develop a serious skin allergy and I had to visit the doctor many times,” wrote Yvonne, proving that life as an actress is really hard work.
Yvonne in character as Hai Yan pre (left) and post skin disease
She went on to share that the coals she stepped on in the scene were not props, but actual hot coals.
“My foolish self did not take any preventive measures and stepped directly on [the coals], the soles of my feet were burnt and blistered… Looking back at it now, I really gave it my all!” wrote Yvonne.
Describing the entire experience as something that’s “hard to forget”, Yvonne added that Stepping Out is a drama that she really loves, and that she’s thankful for being part of it.
Yvonne stepping out with her family
Finally, Yvonne, who has two kids, AJ, six, and Alexa, four, with Taiwanese pop idol-turned-businessman Alex Tien, 41, added that she showed the scene to the latter.
“My husband was shocked after seeing it, and told me that I can’t let our kids watch it!” she laughed.
That's Yvonne on the extreme right, and Cynthia next to her
In a one episode, Yvonne’s character, Hai Yan, is abused and cast out on the streets after contracting a skin disease, which left her face with boils and warts and which her tormentor said is a result of a sexually transmitted disease.
She later comes face-to-face with her tormentor, and confronts her.
In an attempt to prove her innocence, Hai Yan walks over a bed of hot coals. She collapses after but is saved by Cynthia Koh’s character, Hong Dou, who nurses her back to health, and even cures her skin disease.
Photos: Yvonne Lim/Instagram, meWATCH
