TVB Anniversary Awards special feature: A Look Back at TVB’s Past ‘TV King’ Winners (1997 – 2011)

If we were asked to name the TVB program that has garnered the most 'feedback' in HK recently, that 'title' would go to the interview show Telling Maria (最佳男主角) hosted by [veteran reporter and entertainment news host] Luisa Maria Leitao (黎芷珊). In the program, Maria sits down with some of the HK film industry's most popular Best Actor winners from the past few decades and chats with them about career, life, and much more – having so many 'big names' from the industry reveal intimate details about themselves, of course it's no surprise that the program was able to 'attract' so many viewers. However, let's not forget the 'other' Best Actors out there – the ones from the TV world who have a certain 'attractiveness' of their own that is equally appealing to audiences!

With this year being TVB's 45th anniversary celebration, let us take a look back at TVB's Best Actor winners from the past 15 years (starting with the 30th anniversary celebration in 1997) and reminisce about their careers as well as 'classic' performances.

Starting in 1997, TVB added an awards element to their annual TVB Anniversary Gala (萬千星輝賀台慶) event. In 2006, the awards portion was 'broken off' into its own independent program -- the TVB Anniversary Awards show (萬千星輝頒獎典禮) – and over the years, it has become one of the station's most highly anticipated events. Two of the event's 'top honors' -- TV King (Best Actor) and TV Queen (Best Actress) – are awards that the station's many actors and actresses 'battle' over every year.

In the 15 years that TVB's Anniversary Awards has been in existence, a total of 9 TV Kings (Best Actors) have been crowned. Amongst them, actor Gallen Lo (羅嘉良) tops the list as the 'TV King of Kings', as he has won the coveted award 3 times (a record that has yet to be broken); close behind him are 4 actors who have each won the award twice: Roger Kwok (郭晉安), Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎), and Louis Koo (古天樂). Rounding out the rest of the TV King winners list are Bobby Au Yeung (歐陽震華), Moses Chan (陳豪), Bowie Lam (林保怡), and Ha Yu (夏雨).

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Gallen Lo (羅嘉良)

Nicknamed 'Lo Kar' (撈家), Gallen Lo entered the industry in 1984 after participating in that year's New Talent Singing Competition, where he caught the attention of renown songwriter Jim Lo (盧國沾). Possessing an 'honest, clean-cut, gentlemanly' image, Gallen was often cast in the shy, quiet, introverted good guy roles early on in his career – such as the role of Mimi Lau's (劉淑華) 'wooden' boyfriend 'Johnson' in 1986's City Japes (城市故事) [TN: which was also Gallen's debut series], the late Tang Bik Wan's (鄧碧雲) shy son 'Sai Dee' in 1987's The Seasons (季節), and ruthless villain Luk Kwok Wing's [played by veteran actor Kenneth Tsang (曾江)] introverted son in 1988's 'classic' series The Final Verdict (誓不低頭). Even though Gallen's 'honest good guy' image was extremely well-received by audiences since early on in his career, it unfortunately also limited his development in the TV industry, as he continued to play similar type roles in many series through those first few years. In 1990, his performances in the series Rain in the Heart (成功路上), The Hunter's Prey (烏金血劍), and Silken Hands (自梳女) continued to gain favor with audiences, however there was still not much 'breakthrough' in terms of his career.

It wasn't until 1992, when Gallen showed a 'different side' of himself as the main villain 'Kiu Lik' in that year's hit series Vengeance (火玫瑰) that he started to gain recognition, with audiences finally realizing that Gallen was indeed capable of playing villain roles. In 1994's remake of Legend of the Condor Heroes (射鵰英雄傳), Gallen got the opportunity to play 'Yeung Hong' [a role that Michael Miu (苗僑偉) made famous in the 80s version of the series], which was a pretty big challenge for him acting-wise at that point in his career. However, the role that truly catapulted Gallen to fame and popularity was his portrayal of ultimate villain 'Tsui Kar Lap' in 1996's grand production series Cold Blood Warm Heart (天地男兒). With the series spanning 65 episodes, audiences got to 'witness' Tsui Kar Lap's transformation from 'promising youth' to 'ruthless murderer' practically every night – a character that was willing to sacrifice anything for power and money, not only betraying his closest family members, but also causing the death of the woman he loved most. While watching the series, audiences hated his character (Tsui Kar Lap) with a passion, yet at the same time, they also started to see Gallen's acting prowess in a different light.

Cold Blood Warm Heart helped Gallen establish his 'leading actor' status at TVB and also brought him many new opportunities. Subsequently, he continued to expand his acting skills by taking on a variety of different roles, such as those in 1996's Dark Tales (聊齋), Once Upon a Time in Shanghai (新上海灘), Criminal Investigator 2 (O記實錄II) , etc. --all of which brought him praises for his 'high quality' performances. However, if we were to recount the role that left the deepest impression on audiences, it would have to be Gallen's performance in 1997's Old Time Buddy (難兄難弟), where he starred opposite a strong leading cast consisting of Francis Ng (吳鎮宇), Jessica Hsuan (宣萱), and Maggie Cheung (張可頤). In the series, his portrayal of 'Lui Kei' (one of the Shaw Brothers era's most popular leading actors) was so realistic and convincing that many audiences felt that he WAS 'Lui Kei'. His performance also led audiences to realize that in addition to playing 'good guy' and 'villain' characters so convincingly, he was also able to grasp comedic roles perfectly as well – therefore, he was dubbed as one of TVB's most 'versatile leading actors' at that time. Not only did the series Old Time Buddy garner high ratings for TVB, it also created a 'ripple effect' popularity craze unlike anything seen before at TVB – first, the original soundtrack album to the series sold out in various stores in HK, then the series was made into a movie version entitled Those Were the Days (精裝難兄難弟) that same year (1997); the following year (1998), the series was made into a theatrical stage play and a follow up sequel to the TV series – Old Time Buddy: To Catch a Thief (難兄難弟之神探李奇) -- was also released.

In 1998, Gallen led an 'all-star' cast in another grand production series, Secret of the Heart (天地豪情), playing the role of 'Cheuk Seung Man' – a person that women both loved and hated. In addition to his leading role in the series, Gallen was also tasked with singing all of the theme and sub-theme songs for the series, which all became huge hits when the series aired – in fact, at the time, the original soundtrack album for the series reached 75,000 units sold in a few short weeks, which landed it in the number one spot on IFPI's Top Sales chart for many weeks! Because of this, Gallen also got the opportunity to hold his very own concert for the first time at the HK Coliseum. That same year, due to his role in Secret of the Heart, Gallen ended up winning the TV King award at TVB's Anniversary Gala for the second time in a row [he had already won his first TV King award in 1997 for his performance in Old Time Buddy].

It can be said that from the late 90s to the early 2000s, the television industry 'belonged' to Gallen Lo – in addition to being crowned TV King twice, all of the series he participated in during that time were also hugely popular among audiences; in addition, starting in the year 1997, Gallen was selected as one of the 'Top Ten TV Artists' by the HK Media for 7 years straight.

In 1999, to commemorate the arrival of the new millennium, TVB gathered many of its top artists together in the special 100 episode grand production drama series At the Threshold of an Era (創世紀) [1999-2000] – of course, TVB's 'number one brother' Gallen Lo was included amongst the 'all-star' cast that consisted of many top siu sangs and fadans such as Roger Kwok (郭晉安), Sunny Chan (陳錦鴻), Louis Koo (古天樂), Kenix Kwok (郭可盈), Ada Choi (蔡少芬), Flora Chan (陳慧珊), Liza Wang (汪明荃), etc. and got the chance to 'battle' acting chops with this stellar group of actors and actresses. In 2005, when the series was re-broadcast in the midnight timeslot, so many audiences tuned in to 'chase' the series that it ended up achieving 94% ratings share, which is recordbreaking for that particular timeslot.

The 2002 anniversary grand production series Golden Faith (流金歲月) became Gallen's last 'representative work' prior to leaving TVB. It was also the series that gave Gallen his 3rd TV King award, achieving a 'record' in TVB anniversary awards history that no other male artist has been able to break (so far). This series also 'reunited' Gallen with his long-time on-screen partner Jessica Hsuan – the onscreen chemistry between these two was unquestionable, but most importantly, audiences loved their pairing so much that even to this day, there are many who still wish to see another collaboration between these two 'old partners' someday.

In 2008, Gallen made a brief return to TVB, filming the series When a Dog Loves a Cat (當狗愛上貓) as well as 2009's anniversary series Born Rich (富貴門). Since then, Gallen shifted his career to the Mainland and has not filmed any more series for TVB.

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Roger Kwok (郭晉安)

Right behind Gallen Lo's record-setting 3-time TV King win are 4 siu sangs who have each won the award twice. The first one we would like to introduce is Roger Kwok.

Just like Gallen Lo, Roger was 'discovered' back in 1985 by songwriter Jim Lo (盧國沾) – not surprisingly then, Roger's debut series at TVB was also the 1986 sitcom City Japes, which was also the first time that he became 'familiar' to HK audiences. In 1988, Roger also starred alongside Gallen in The Final Verdict (誓不低頭), in which he played the son of Adam Cheng's (鄭少秋) character in the series.

Since his debut in 1986 at TVB, Roger's 'steadfast youth' image was very well-received by audiences – in addition, his handsome looks and physical stature at the time resembled singer/actor Leslie Cheung (張國榮), which resulted in him being dubbed as Leslie's 'successor'. Therefore, a few short years after he started in the industry, Roger was already playing lead roles in many modern and ancient series, such as 1988's The Saga of the Lost Kingdom (嬴單傳奇), 1989's The Vixen's Tale (萬家傳說), 1990's Rain in the Heart (成功路上), the 1990 sitcom When the Sun Shines (同居三人組), 1991's Mystery of the Twin Swords (日月神劍), etc. With his healthy image and steady acting skills, which endeared him to audiences, Roger was able to quickly make his way to 'first line siu sang' status in the late 80s.

In the mid-90s, after filming the series The Intangible Truth (生死訟) [1994], Instinct (笑看風雲) [1994], When a Man Loves a Woman (新同居關係) [1995], etc., Roger left TVB briefly to try his luck outside.

After his return to TVB, it wasn't until 2003 that Roger encountered the 'breakthrough' role of his career: the character of 'Ah Wong' in the series Square Pegs (戇夫成龍). Winning the TV King award for the first time due to his performance in this series, Roger's hard work over the years finally paid off. In 2005, Roger played the same 'Ah Wong' character in the 'modern' version of Square Pegs – the series Life Made Simple (阿旺新傳) – which gave him his second TV King title and at the same time made anniversary awards history by being the first (and 'only' so far) artist to win TV King twice playing the same character. In addition to bringing 'good luck' for Roger himself, the character of 'Ah Wong' also proved to be TVB's 'secret weapon' over the years, as the character continues to be very popular with audiences – every time any 'Ah Wong' related memorabilia is released into the market, the items are quickly snatched up by fans.

Despite already having 2 TV King titles under his belt, Roger continues to work untiringly over the years to enhance his acting skills and bring more depth to his roles by participating in a variety of different series -- for example: light, comedic series such as 2005's Scavengers' Paradise (同撈同煲), 2008's D.I.E. (古靈精探) and 2009's D.I.E. sequel (古靈精探; series involving the battle of mind and strength such as 2004's To Get Unstuck in Time (隔世追兇), 2008's Last One Standing (與敵同行), 2009's Wax and Wane (團圓), etc.

With his strong acting skills as well as his ability to grasp the essence of each of his performances accurately (plus that 'eternal babyface' of his), we're sure that Roger's 'first line siu sang' status will continue to remain steady, even 10 years down the road!

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Wayne Lai (黎耀祥)

Another artist who was crowned TV King twice and also has been in the industry for more than 20 years is 'talent path' actor Wayne Lai. Even though he may not have the physical 'looks' that other actors may have, one thing he does have is a steady foundation [in acting]. He joined TVB back in the 1980s, however, for the majority of his career, he never got the opportunity to rise to 'leading actor' status – it wasn't until a few years ago that he finally made it to 'first line siu sang' level, taking on the lead role in one TV series after another and also being crowned TV King for 2 of those roles.

After graduating from TVB's Acting Class, Wayne Lai started participating in TVB series in 1986, however he mostly had minor roles [TN: what we call 'kelefe' or 'extra' type roles]. It wasn't until 1990, when he participated in the series The Challenge of Life (人在邊緣), playing the role of Leon Lai's (黎明) buddy 'Cockroach', that he first left an impression on television audiences.

In the mid-90s, Wayne filmed quite a few series that were either remakes or spinoffs of renown author Jin Yong's (金庸) works, such as 1992's Rage and Passion (中神通王重陽), 1994's Legend of the Condor Heroes (射鵰英雄傳) as well as The Condor Heroes Return (射鵰英雄傳之南帝北丐) and 1995's Return of the Condor Heroes (神鵰俠侶) – playing the role of 'Chow Bak Tung' in all 4 series. Aside from veteran actor Chun Wong (秦煌) [who portrayed 'Chow Bak Tung' 5 times in HK television series], Wayne is the only other actor who has played the role of 'Chow Bak Tung' the most times. In addition, his portrayal of the character was very well-received and to this day, is still considered one of Wayne's most 'classic' characters.

After that, Wayne once again got to play the same character in 2 grand production series: 1996's Journey to the West (西遊記) and 1998's sequel, Journey to the West 2 (西遊記貳). In both series, he played the role of Pig (Zhu Bajie) to near perfection – this was another one of his 'classic' roles that still leaves a deep impression on audiences to this day; in fact, 10 years after his portrayal, Wayne was tasked with hosting a documentary program about the historic 'journey' in TVB's special program Master of Monkey King (大唐西遊記) [2008].

Aside from playing the characters of 'Chow Bak Tung' and 'Zhu BaJie' multiple times, Wayne has also played the character of Eunuch Li Lian Ying (李蓮英) twice as well. Of course, we all know that he plays the character of Eunuch Li in the currently airing anniversary series The Confidant (大太監), however not many people remember that he also played the same character 17 years ago in 1995's Man of Wisdom 2 (金牙大狀II ) . Based on this 'record', Wayne Lai could very possibly be the only actor in HK television history who has played the same characters the most times!

Wayne's other 'representative works' in the 1990s era include the Files of Justice (壹號皇庭) franchise [1992-1997], 1994's Filthy Rich (豪門插班生), 1995's From Act to Act (娛樂插班生), 1995's To Love with Love (水餃皇后), 1997's A Road and A Will (香港人在廣州), etc. Among those works, Wayne's imitation of legendary pop superstar Roman Tam (羅文) in 1997's Show Time Blues (樂壇插班生) left a huge impression on audiences and helped him gain recognition for his 'imitation' skills – after that, he continued to imitate Roman Tam in various events.

Wayne left TVB in 1998 to pursue a movie career and after his return in 2002, he didn't miss a beat, continuing to give strong performances in numerous series, such as 2004's The Conqueror's Story (楚漢驕雄), 2005's The Gentle Crackdown (秀才遇著兵), 2006's Safeguards (鐵血保鏢), 2007's Devil's Disciples (強劍), 2008's Moonlight Resonance (溏心風暴之家好月圓), etc. He also participated in over 1000 episodes of sitcoms, including 2007's Best Selling Secrets (同事三分親), 2008's Off Pedder (畢打自己人), and 2010's Some Day(天天天晴) – with filming that took place over a span of 3 years, this allowed Wayne to remain a 'fixture' in HK audience's households for a long period of time.

Wayne can actually be considered the ultimate 'representative' of the Chinese saying 'a great talent matures slowly' (大器晚成) – after having 'toiled' diligently and silently for more than 20 years, Wayne's efforts finally paid off in 2008 when he received his very first TV-related award: Best Supporting Actor for his dual role of two brothers in 2008's The Gentle Crackdown 2 (秀才愛上兵). After that, Wayne's acting career went smoothly and he was quickly elevated to 'first line siu sang' status. In 2009, Wayne's portrayal of the character 'Chai Gau' in that year's runaway hit series Rosy Business (巾幗梟雄) pushed his popularity to a level that he had never experienced before in his 23 year career – to this day, every one still remembers his 'golden phrase' from that series: 'How many 10 years are there in life?' (人生有幾多個十年？). The impact of the series was huge and the positive feedback from audiences was overwhelming, culminating in both Wayne and his 'partner' in the series, actress Sheren Tang (鄧萃雯) being crowned TV King and Queen that year (2009). Wayne himself also won the 'My Favorite Male Character' award as well as the 'Tvb.com Popularity Award' that year, thereby becoming the first 'triple award TV King' [TN: for 'bagging' 3 awards that night] in the history of the anniversary awards. He is also the first artist to receive the TV King (Best Actor) award the year right after he won the Best Supporting Actor award.

In 2010, Wayne was crowned TV King once again for his portrayal of 'Lau Sing' in the sequel to Rosy Business: 2010's anniversary series No Regrets (巾幗梟雄之義海豪情). He's the second artist in anniversary awards history to win TV King 2 years in a row [the first artist was Gallen Lo for his wins in 1997 and again in 1998].

After winning TV King for the second time, Wayne's next series was 2011's anniversary series Forensic Heroes 3 (法證先鋒III), which ended up being one of the most highly rated series that year. This year (2012) appears to be another great year for Wayne – he has 3 series released this year, including The Greatness of a Hero (盛世仁傑), King Maker (造王者), and the currently airing anniversary series The Confidant. In addition, his performance in The Confidant has made him a 'hot favorite' for the TV King award once again this year. Will Wayne be able to match Gallen Lo's record by winning the TV King award again for the 3rd time? We will have to wait until the awards ceremony takes place on December 17th to find out!

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Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎)

The third artist who was crowned TV King twice is singer turned actor Kevin Cheng.

In the 1990s era, Kevin signed with one of HK's biggest record companies – Polygram (now Universal) and in 1993, upon release of his first album, he quickly became the 'newcomer of the year', winning numerous music awards. Unfortunately, he later had a 'fall-out' with his manager and mentor Dai See Chung (戴思聰) and ended up leaving HK for Taiwan, where he started his acting career filming TV series. In 1999, Kevin's portrayal of the character 'Kong Yuk Long' in Taiwan's version of The Legendary Siblings (絕代雙驕) caught the attention of TVB and he was invited back to HK to film series for them. After joining TVB, he participated in a bunch of series, including 2002's Burning Flame 2 (烈火雄心II), 2003's Loving You (Loving You我愛你2) and Not Just a Pretty Face (美麗在望), etc. -- but mostly in supporting roles.

2004's Hard Fate (翡翠戀曲) proved to be the turning point of Kevin Cheng's career – not only did he get the chance to take on a lead role in the series, it also marked the first time that he paired up with his 'best onscreen partner' (and rumored girlfriend) Niki Chow (周麗淇). The Kevin/Niki pairing was so popular and well-received by audiences at the time that TVB decided to keep up the momentum by pairing the two of them up again in 2006's Under the Canopy of Love (天幕下的戀人) and 2008's The Seventh Day (最美麗的第七天).

The series Under the Canopy of Love also brought Kevin the first peak of his career, ultimately resulting in him being crowned TV King in 2006. Despite his popularity that year, unfortunately Kevin was not able to gain the recognition of audiences and the general public, causing his TV King win to be shrouded in controversy – the backlash and negativity he received at the time definitely impacted his confidence. Luckily, he did not give up and instead, worked hard to improve his acting the next few years in a variety of series, such as 2007's Devil's Disciples and The Ultimate Crime Fighter (通天幹探), 2008's Forensic Heroes 2 (法證先鋒II) and Last One Standing (與敵同行), 2009's Burning Flame 3 (烈火雄心III) and Beyond the Realm of Conscience (宮心計), 2010's Fistful of Stances (鐵馬尋橋), 2011's Only You (Only You 只有您), etc.

In 2011, Kevin's breakthrough role as rogue lawyer 'L.A. Law' in the hit series Ghetto Justice (怒火街頭) not only gave him the second major peak of his career, it also earned him a second TV King award. This time around, the reaction from the audiences was very different – his willingness to let go of his 'handsome gentleman' image to play a boorish rogue lawyer paid off, as he received widespread recognition for his acting and became the 'expected' winner of the TV King award that year. In addition to winning TV King, Kevin also won the 'My Favorite Male Character' and 'TVB.com Popularity' awards that same year, thereby becoming the second actor (after Wayne Lai) to become 'triple award TV King'.

In recent years, Kevin has been actively pursuing the Mainland TV market, filming many series there in a short period of time – in addition, he is planning on making a comeback to the music world, as he recently signed with record company EEG. Despite all this, Kevin has not forgotten his fans in HK, as he had 2 TVB series released in HK this year – Gloves Come Off (拳王) and Ghetto Justice 2 (怒火街頭2). In addition, he is also nominated once again for TV King in this year's anniversary awards.


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Louis Koo (古天樂)

The last 'double TV King' winner we'll look at is an artist who already left the TV industry many years ago and is currently a 'super star' in the movie industry – Louis Koo.

Out of all the TV King winners featured in this article, Louis Koo's career with TVB was the shortest – from the time he was 'discovered' in 1993 (due to filming a music video) to his departure in 2001 (after winning his second TV King title), he was only at TVB for a total of 8 years. Even though Louis' career in the TV industry was short, it was a bright one nevertheless.

After entering the industry in 1993, Louis' first official series was 1994's Knot to Treasure (婚姻物語), which starred audience favorites Ekin Cheng (鄭伊健) and Nnadia Chan (陳松伶) – even though Louis' role was only a supporting one, the positive feedback that he received was no less than that of the main leads. Therefore, TVB decided to heavily promote Louis by first arranging for him to participate in the sitcom Happy Harmony (餐餐有宋家) [1994] to brush up on his acting – not long after that, he was selected to co-star with Heavenly King Leon Lai in the 1994 grand production series Class of Distinction (阿SIR早晨) – from that moment on, his acting career took off.

In the subsequent years, Louis continued to be heavily promoted by TVB – along with Leo Ku (古巨基), Carlo Ng (吳家樂), Hawick Lau (劉愷威), and Keith Ho (何遠恒), Louis became part of the 'new Five Tigers' group that came about in the mid-90s. In addition, Louis was 'hand-picked' to take on the heavy role of 'Yang Guo' in the 1995 remake of Jin Yong's classic Return of the Condor Heroes. After soaring to popularity with this series, Louis continued to star in many heavyweight series, including 1996's Cold Blood Warm Heart, 1997's Recipe for the Heart (美味天王), 1998's Burning Flame (烈火雄心), etc. In 1999's Man's Best Friend (寵物情緣), Louis got the chance to collaborate with music queen Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文) for the first time – the pairing was very well-received by audiences and set the stage for their pairing in film projects later on.

In 1999, Louis also collaborated once again with long-time onscreen partner Jessica Hsuan (宣萱) in heavyweight series Detective Investigation Files IV (刑事偵緝檔案IV), which ended up becoming one of the most popular series of that year. In addition, both Louis and Jessica were crowned TV King and Queen at that year's Anniversary Awards, which also marked the first time that the leads from the same series received those 2 awards at the same time. The following year, Louis also participated in grand production series At the Threshold of an Era (創世紀) – his villain character 'Cheung Chi Lik' proved to be the biggest acting challenge of his career at the time. That same year, he also joined the music world, releasing an album and also singing the subtheme songs for a few of his series.

In 2001, Louis filmed what was to be his last series with TVB – the time-travel mega production A Step into the Past (尋秦記), in which Louis was once again 'reunited' with his 'best onscreen partner' Jessica Hsuan. To this day, the series is still hugely popular and is considered a 'classic' by many audiences – it also earned Louis his second TV King title, marking a 'perfect' end to his TV career.

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Complete list of TVB's Anniversary Awards 'Best Actor' (TV King) Winners:

>> 1997: Gallen Lo for <>
>> 1998: Gallen Lo for <>
>> 1999: Louis Koo for <>
>> 2000: Bobby Au Yeung for <>
>> 2001: Louis Koo for <>
>> 2002: Gallen Lo for <>
>> 2003: Roger Kwok for <>
>> 2004: Bowie Lam for <>
>> 2005: Roger Kwok for <>
>> 2006: Kevin Cheng for <>
>> 2007: Moses Chan for <>
>> 2008: Ha Yu for <>
>> 2009: Wayne Lai for <>
>> 2010: Wayne Lai for <>
>> 2011: Kevin Cheng for <>


Written by: MonJeh
Source: YumCha! (yesasia.com)
Translated by: llwy12 @ AsianFanatics

Admin 17 Dec, 2012

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Source: http://tvbnewsworld.blogspot.com/2012/12/tvb-anniversary-awards-special-feature.html
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