Banter and happy tears

Last Saturday's StarHub TVB Awards saw a buoyant mood as martial arts drama A Fist Within Four Walls bagged the most trophies - seven

The cast of A Fist Within Four Walls, (from far left) Benjamin Yuen, Moon Lau, Grace Wong, Nancy Wu and Ruco Chan, with the trophy for My Favourite TVB Drama.
The cast of A Fist Within Four Walls, (from far left) Benjamin Yuen, Moon Lau, Grace Wong, Nancy Wu and Ruco Chan, with the trophy for My Favourite TVB Drama. PHOTO: STARHUB
Matthew Ho and Moon Lau (above) won the Best New TVB Artiste awards.
Matthew Ho and Moon Lau (above) won the Best New TVB Artiste awards. PHOTO: STARHUB
Singapore singer Nathan Hartono (above) performed for the 1,500-strong crowd.
Singapore singer Nathan Hartono (above) performed for the 1,500-strong crowd. PHOTO: STARHUB
Hosts (above) Carol Cheng and hip-hop duo Fama’s 6-Wing (left) and C-Kwan kept the atmosphere lively.
Hosts (above) Carol Cheng and hip-hop duo Fama’s 6-Wing (left) and C-Kwan kept the atmosphere lively. PHOTO: STARHUB

Glamorous stars, banter and some happy tears characterised the seventh edition of the StarHub TVB Awards, held last Saturday at Marina Bay Sands.

Two of the biggest winners of the night were actor Ruco Chan, 39, and actress Nancy Wu, 35.

Their roles as a bickering duo who eventually fall in love with each other in martial arts drama A Fist Within Four Walls saw them clinch the nods for My Favourite TVB Actor and Actress, My Favourite TVB Female Character, My Favourite On-Screen Couple and My Favourite TVB Theme Song, which they performed.

It was Chan's third consecutive win in the My Favourite TVB Actor category.

Wu's acceptance speech for My Favourite TVB Actress award - her first time winning it here - was the most emotional one of the night.

"This role has been a turning point for my acting career," said the actress, who has been acting for 14 years.

Fighting back tears, she revealed that she felt great stress in her role as the feisty landlady in A Fist Within Four Walls and put a lot of pressure on herself to do her best.

She thanked Chan for being an excellent acting partner and encouraging her during filming.

The pair, who were among the more than 20 Hong Kong stars who attended the event, are rumoured to be a couple in real life.

Their fellow stars egged them on to share a kiss after they performed the theme song for A Fist Within Four Walls.

Host Carol Cheng fanned the excitement, saying: "Why don't you take a bite?"

Chan and Wu refused and shuffled off the stage coyly.

About 34 awards were presented in 16 categories. A Fist Within Four Walls bagged the most - seven in total.

A unique feature of this year's event saw some of the categories having more than one winner.

In the My Favourite On-screen Couple category, Chan and Wu shared the award with their Fist co-stars Benjamin Yuen, 35, and Grace Wong, 30.

Actor Wayne Lai, 52, was a co-winner with Chan for the My Favourite TVB Actor award.

Other notable award winners were Moon Lau and Matthew Ho, who won the Best New TVB Artiste awards, and Raymond Cho and Rosina Lam, who won My Favourite TVB Supporting Actor and Actress awards.

Lam's voice broke slightly when she thanked her family for their support and understanding of her busy schedule. Lam, 29, married billionaire Jason Mok last July.

The mood throughout the show was buoyant, thanks to the lively banter among the hosts - Cheng, Hong Kong hip-hop duo 6-Wing and C-Kwan from Fama.

Before giving out the awards for My Favourite TVB Male TV Character, they invited the winning actors to perform a catwalk onstage - all gamely complied, much to the audience's delight.

The 1,500-strong crowd was also treated to performances by Singapore singers such as current hot favourite Nathan Hartono, Kit Chan and Alex Chia.

•The StarHub TVB Awards 2016 will air on Saturday on TVB First (StarHub TV Channel 860) in the original Cantonese.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 24, 2016, with the headline Banter and happy tears. Subscribe