Kenneth Ma, who was betrayed by then girlfriend Jacqueline Wong in April, is ending the year on a much happier note.

In a photograph of TVB artists taken at a recent show to mark the station's 52nd anniversary, he is prominently placed in the first row.

Pundits, who track who stands where in such photographs that are taken in the celebratory gala held every year, note that Ma is standing beside veteran host Carol Cheng in the centre of the front row.

That spot has always been filled by TVB's top leading men such as Roger Kwok and Moses Chan.

This year, the actor placed beside the other host, Liza Wang, is Chan.

In previous years, Ma was in the front row too, but was never spotted close to the show hosts.

But the actor, who won sympathy from fans after Wong made news in April over her kissing of married singer Andy Hui, has done well this year with top-rated shows such as Big White Duel.

Another tradition in the annual photo-taking sees the highest-rated actresses standing next to the top actors, according to the HK01 portal.

This year, Ali Lee stood next to Chan and Natalie Tong was beside Ma.

Fans of Lee take that as a sign that she is back in the good books of TVB after it reportedly put her in cold storage over her support of the Hong Kong protesters.

The station does not want to be denied access to the huge China market.