Helen Tam Yuk Ying (, born 27 November 1962) is a host of
children's programmes in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
.
She joined
Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...
(TVB) in 1980 and has hosted for children's shows since the 1980s, including ''
430 Space Shuttle'' (1982–1989), ''
Flash Fax'' (1989–1999), ''
Kids Click'' (2000–2004) and ''
After School ICU'' (2005 - 2014). Therefore, she is often called "Sister Tam Yuk Ying" (譚玉瑛姐姐) as if she is
an elder sister.
Biography
Due to unsatisfactory
HKCEE
The Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE, 香港中學會考) was a standardised examination between 1974 and 2011 after most local students' five-year secondary education, conducted by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment ...
results, Helen Tam was unable to be promoted to form 6, and she applied for courses in shipping engineering and constructions, but was rejected by both because she did not have enough weight. As the talent training class of TVB was open for recruitment, she applied in the hope of learning
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
, and she was subsequently enrolled.
At the completion of the training class, Helen had a chance to act in a TVB
serial drama
In television and radio programming, a serial is a show that has a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode-by-episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the complete run of ...
. On 26 April 1982, she begin her career in children's shows when she was assigned as a co-host in the newly established children' show, ''
430 Space Shuttle''. In the course of 30 years, the children's shows were re-organized several times by TVB, but Helen remained a core member of the shows and is the only person to host all of the shows. She was most well known by her role as an English-teaching witch in ''
Flash Fax''. Some of her partners, such as
Stephen Chow,
Tony Leung and
Athena Chu
Athena Chu (born 25 October 1971) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Zixia Fairy in ''A Chinese Odyssey'' (1995).
Early life and education
On 25, October 1971, Chu was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Her father was ...
, have become successful film actors. In 2012 TVB celebrated her 30-year contributions to the children's shows. However, due to human resource decisions, in 2014, she was forced to relinquish her roles as a children TV host after her contract was not renewed, ending her 32-year tenure. She then made her debut as an entertainment news host, and made her debut on April 17, 2014
In spite of her famous role, Tam is not fond of having her own children.
As a prominent figure among teenagers, she regularly appears in TV commercials and promotional films targeted at students. She played the role of a school principal in the "DSE Myth" series produced by the
Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. She explained to the candidates the instructions and procedures for candidates of the
Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination to ease candidates' concerns.
References
Hong Kong television presenters
Hong Kong women television presenters
Living people
1963 births
{{HongKong-bio-stub