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FLY Entertainment founder and CEO Irene Ang is the third guest to be featured on the second season of Quan Yi Fong's talkshow, "Hear U Out". Ang was featured in episodes five and six.
Singaporeans may recognise her as Rosie Phua from Singapore's longest-running sitcom, Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, which was on air for nearly 10 years. Her performance earned her the Best Comedy Performance by an Actress at the Asian Television Awards in 2002.
In the episode, the 51-year-old shared about how she scored her most iconic role that shot her to fame across Southeast Asia.
Screenshot via meWATCH.
Volunteering stint after grandmother's passing
Ang felt depressed after her grandmother passed away, which prompted her friend to suggest that they do volunteer work.
At that time, sitcoms had live audiences that required a "wubbie" — a person tasked to warm up the audience and keep their energy levels high during the long hours of filming.
Ang said that she's the first person to take on such a role, which came about because Channel 5 started producing sitcoms.
Screenshot via meWATCH.
She admitted that she felt sad that she was unable to continue being a "wubbie" after joining the cast of Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd.
The self-professed chatterbox enjoyed the job a lot despite the long hours and challenges of being a "wubbie".
When she left her position as a "wubbie", she was paid S$3,000 to train a group of "wubbies" over three days.
Scouted by directors and associate producers
How did Ang go from warming a sitcom crowd to playing Rosie Phua?
A group of directors and associate producers noticed that her mannerisms were perfect for the lead role and invited her to attend an audition.
Unaware that it was for the female lead and that her onscreen husband would be Gurmit Singh (whom she was acquainted with), Ang went to the audition under the impression that she was just helping them to hit the headcount.
Ang was told that she landed the role because she was sufficiently plump and loud at that time, which fit the character of Rosie who was inspired by Anita Mui's character.
Ang as Rose. Photo from FLY Entertainment's website.
Ang was around the age of 27 and 28 when she started playing the role of Rosie.
First rehearsal with Gurmit Singh
When she learnt that Singh was her co-star at the first rehearsal, she was shocked.
Caption translates as "Singh sir". Screenshot via meWATCH.
Singh was her senior at school and her officer in the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC). Ang was friends with his sister who was the same age as her, and they would sneak into his house to play whenever he was not around.
"I even called him 'Singh sir'!"
Apparently, Singh was also just as surprised to know that she was playing the role of his wife, she said.
The businesswoman shared that it was awkward acting cute and coquettish in front of Singh during the first few episodes.
First episode of Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd. Screenshot via meWATCH.
Furthermore, her lack of acting experience resulted in a long two-week rehearsal period before they started filming the first episode.
Contrary to his funny man image, Ang said that Singh is actually a serious and quiet person.
While the first few months were a struggle for Ang, she grew to love acting and realised that it's easier than playing a body double — a stint that she did when she was much younger.
Immense fanfare when in costume
Ang shared that when Singh and her visited Penang for a shoot, no one paid attention to them when they first checked into the hotel as themselves.
However, when they were all dressed up in their character outfits and returned to the hotel, the reception became packed with fans who waited for the pair to return from filming.
Screenshot via meWATCH.
The crowd was so large such that they were unable to alight at the lobby and return to their rooms via the reception. Instead, they had to re-enter the hotel via the loading bay to avoid the crowd.
Quan also shared an anecdote that Singh told her about how he was invited by the royal family of Brunei to attend the birthday celebration of a princess but she was unable to recognise him outside of his Phua Chu Kang get-up.
Ang also added that reporters showed up at a cemetery in Penang where they were shooting an advertisement.
"It was during that time when I realised what a celebrity was. No one cared when I walked around in Singapore."
The fanfare persisted for a couple of years, particularly when they made appearances at shopping malls in Malaysia.
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Top images via meWATCH.