Cast of 90s local drama 'Growing Up' reunite over a meal: ‘The ease & camaraderie were still there’

If you were a fan of local television drama "Growing Up", this one's for you.

Actress Amy Cheng, who played the wife of eldest Tay son Gary (Andrew Seow), shared a series of photos on Instagram on Sep. 21 showing several cast members of the popular 1990s drama reuniting over a meal.

Among those who joined Cheng were Irin Gan, who played eldest Tay daughter Vicky, as well as Lim Kay Tong and Wee Soon Hui, who portrayed Mr and Mrs Tay.

Ivan Tay, who played Gary's best friend Kheng Joo in the series, was also at the gathering.

One of the show's executive producers, Ng Say Yong, was present as well.

"A very easy afternoon with colleagues from our MediaCorp days — catching up, laughing and talking about the work we still love," Cheng wrote in her post. "The ease and camaraderie were still there... well, at least on my part."

The show started in 1996.

Missing from the reunion photos are the other three Tay children: Seow, Steven Lim, who played David, and Jamie Yeo, who played Tammy.

The reunion drew an enthusiastic response from fans in the comments.

One commenter said the post "healed" him:

"They don't make TV shows like that anymore. Growing Up was formative to my childhood. I wish they rebooted the series with a new generation of Tays during the 90s to the present day."

Responding to the comment, Cheng said: "All of us (including cast members who were not present as well as crew members across the years) appreciate the fact that stories from this series have connected in different ways."

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Background

"Growing Up" ran for six seasons from 1996 to 2001.

The drama series followed the Tay family as they navigated life in Singapore against the backdrop of the country's changing landscape from the 1960s to the 1980s.

The cast's last publicly known reunion was on a "CNA On The Red Dot" special in 2021.

Lim Kay Tong, Wee and Yeo appeared in person, while Steven Lim joined the reunion via video call from Bangkok.

Seow and Gan were not present at that reunion.

It was also previously reported that Seow, who left showbiz after his last television role in 2006, joined Aetos Security Management as an auxiliary police officer.