Raymond Lam and Kate Tsui Refuse to Film for TVB?

This year, the Best Drama, Best Actor, and Best Actress winners for the TVB Anniversary Awards were determined entirely by popular vote, giving audiences the greatest freedom in selecting the TV King and Queen of Hong Kong.

When everyone expected Raymond Lam (林峯), who arguably has one of the largest fan bases in Hong Kong, to win Best Actor, it was Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) who ultimately took home the Best Actor trophy. Tavia Yeung (楊怡), who starred in the flopped Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles <名媛望族>, won Best Actress over Kate Tsui(徐子珊), who starred in the much more successful Highs and Lows <雷霆掃毒>. Cult favorite, When Heaven Burns <天與地>, also beat out popular dramas The Hippocratic Crush <On Call 36小時> and The Confidant <大太監> for Best Drama.

Could it be that we are overestimating the size of Raymond’s fan base, or did his loss have something to do with the system itself?

According to a recent Hong Kong report, the total number of Raymond’s votes did not even qualify him for a second place trophy. In fact, Raymond did not even make it into the top three. Wayne reportedly won by a landslide, accumulating over 110,000 votes. Kenneth Ma (馬國明) came in second place, approximately 30,000 votes behind Wayne.

In a similar scenario, Tavia won the Best Actress award with over 110,000 votes. Kate came second, also with 30,000 votes behind.

A Battle Between the Executives

The source claimed that the reason behind Raymond and Kate’s loss for TV King and Queen was because of a struggle between TVB management executives, Catherine Tsang (曾勵珍) and Virginia Lok (樂易玲).

The annual TVB Anniversary Awards are normally held two weeks after the station’s Anniversary Gala presentations in November. This year, Catherine Tsang insisted to hold the awards in mid-December, after the broadcasts of Anniversary dramas, Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles and The Confidant. Both dramas star some of Catherine Tsang’s favorites, Tavia and Wayne, and thus, allowing them to have a greater chance in winning the Best Actress and Actor awards.

As favorites of Virginia Lok, Raymond and Kate were at a disadvantage. Virginia Lok immediately objected to Catherine Tsang’s proposal, but as both Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles and The Confidant were also nominated for Best Drama, it made sense to hold the 2012 awards ceremony after the two dramas had finished airing.

Raymond and Kate Give Up

It has been said that after losing the TV King and Queen titles, Raymond and Kate voiced their opposition by refusing to work for TVB. Raymond initially saved a spot between March and April 2013 to film a TVB drama, but after serious consideration, he decided to focus on doing albums, films, and mainland dramas instead. Kate will also focus on filming movies for most of 2013.

Source: Apple Daily via ihktv.com

This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.