Penang-born ‘Mind Your Language' actress dies aged 80
Lim Pik-Sen's role in 'Mind Your Language' made her the most recognisable Chinese actress on British TV throughout the 1970s and 1980s. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA : Lim Pik-Sen, the Penang-born actress best known for her role as Chung Su-Lee in the British sitcom 'Mind Your Language', has died at the age of 80.
Pik-Sen rose to fame in the late 1970s as Su-Lee, a Chinese student whose broken English and Mao Zedong quotes brought comic relief to the classroom in the hit British TV series.
Her character, with her trademark 'little Red Book', became one of the most recognisable figures on British television, and a familiar face in both the UK and Malaysia.
Pik-Sen, the daughter of businessman Lim Cheng Teik, died on Monday, according to tributes shared by friends and colleagues.
Actor Daniel York, who worked with her on stage and in audio dramas, remembered her warmly on Facebook: 'She was a joy – full of love, laughter and mischief. Her gift for comedy made you feel safe on stage. That unique voice and bold energy carried us all.
'We've shared the same agent for over 25 years. She'll be deeply missed,' he said.
With Mr Jeremy Brown (Barry Evans) in an episode of 'Mind Your Language'. (YouTube pic)
Fans of 'Mind Your Language' also paid tribute on a dedicated Facebook group with more than 675,000 members.
'She was the greatest follower of Chairman Mao,' joked actor Rafsan Tahmid, referencing one of Su-Lee's iconic lines from the show.
The British Film Institute once described Pik-Sen as 'the most recognisable Chinese actor on British television throughout the 1970s and 1980s'.
Before her sitcom fame, Pik-Sen had already broken ground on British TV. In the 1960s, she played Nurse Kwei in 'Emergency Ward 10', one of Britain's earliest medical dramas.
Her role as a fluent English-speaking Chinese nurse who falls in love with a doctor was considered pioneering at the time.
In a 1984 interview with The Straits Times, Pik-Sen recalled the stir she caused when she posed for publicity photos in a mini-cheongsam during the height of the miniskirt era. The image made headlines in conservative Penang.
Her father, who had never visited her in London, only saw her on TV when the show aired in Malaysia.
'So you don't take off your clothes after all,' he quipped.
Despite being fluent in English, Pik-Sen had to train herself to speak in broken English for her role in 'Mind Your Language', purposely mixing up her Ls and Rs.
'I had to say things like 'fom' instead of 'from', and 'evely' for 'every'. It was pretty corny,' she admitted.
'Till today, my husband insists my English got worse after the series.'
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