Malaysian-born TVB actress Serene Lim has left the television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong, making her the third Malaysian artiste to do so this month, according to the hype.my website on Thursday (May 28).
The others are Kimmy Low, 34, and Vivien Yeo, 35.
The 24-year-old Lim had concluded her contract with TVB. Fans noticed that she had left when there was no mention about TVB in her social media account and when she removed the contact of her TVB manager on Instagram.
When Malaysian media contacted Lim, she confirmed that the news was true. She is back in Malaysia and spending time with her loved ones in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, it is rumoured that TVB is facing financial issues and that it has been unable to pay its artistes.
Lim told Malaysian media that she might pursue acting locally. She did not, however, rule out working in Hong Kong again should the opportunity arise to do so.
Lim, who hails from Perak, rose to stardom after winning the 2016 Miss Astro Chinese International Pageant. She then represented Malaysia in the Miss Chinese International Pageant in 2017 and was first runner-up. TVB signed her on the following year.
Lim acted in Think Big Big, The Garden of Evening Mists as well as two series, Line Walker 3 and Al Cappuccino. She also had a supporting role in the 2019 drama Girlie Days. In The Garden of Evening Mists, Lim played Yun Hung, the sister of the main character Yun Ling.
In the story plot, Yun Ling dreamed of building a Japanese garden while being held in captivity in a Japanese concentration camp during their occupation of Malaya. Although Lim did not appear in many scenes, she played an essential character. Yun Ling meets a gardener through Yun Hung and it contributes to the whole story.
As Lim was not born in that era, she had to watch a lot of documentaries about comfort women and even learn how to draw and paint to embody her character. /TISG