Gigi & Charmaine Lead The Artistes At TVB Spring Banquet

TVB's Artiste Department held its Spring Banquet on Wednesday evening at a Tseung Kwan O restaurant and among the sixty artistes present were Charmaine Sheh, Gigi Lai, Sonija Kwok, Myolie Wu, Ron Ng, Bosco Wong, Steven Ma, Roger Kwok and Bowie Lam. Executives in attendance included Leung Nai Pang, Stephen Chan, Virginia Lok and Catherine Tsang. A group photo was taken before the meal and with Catherine in charge of the seating arrangements, this year's TV Queen Charmaine was placed to the right of Mr Leung, whilst the previous year's winner Gigi Lai was placed to his left. Sonija, Myolie, Bernice Liu, Shirley Yeung, Yoyo Mung and Linda Chung were split to either side. As for the male stars, Ron, Bowie, Roger, Moses Chan, Bosco, Raymond Lam, Steven and Kenneth Ma were placed in front of the ladies. The other less popular stars including Fala Chen, Leanne Li, Sharon Chan, Matthew Ko and Rocky Cheng were sent to the back two rows.

Shirley Yeung & Gregory Lee 'Split' Just Before Valentine's Day

Shirley Yeung appeared in an Audrey Hepburn look at a jewellery promotional event yesterday entitled "Your Valentine Sparkles" where some male models presented the ladies with diamonds for Valentine's. When Shirley was asked about how she will be spending Valentine's with her boyfriend Gregory Lee, her expression changed when she heard his name in a change to the normally open approach that Shirley has in talking about her relationship. She changed the subject on three occasions, saying that she is just concentrating on her career now and does not want to talk about romance.

After the show, Shirley was asked if she has been presented with diamonds by her boyfriend, but she became very embarrassed and muttered: "No, I don't want to talk about it." Then she changed the subject and said: "The first time I received diamonds was when I graduated and my mother bought me something. I have also given a diamond necklace to my mother. I rarely buy them, but later I will buy something as a reward for myself." When the press pushed her further asking how she would spend Valentine's with her boyfriend, she says: "I will be working. (Any preparations?) Working." Afterwards, the revealed that she will be going on holiday for the new year: "I will be going away for the new year with some old classmates and will leave it up to my mother to collect my lucky packets for me."

Seeing Shirley's evasion of the topic, the press went straight in directly asking if her relationship has broken up. She seemed a little shocked and said: "Not responding. when you grow up, your work becomes more important and I will concentrate on my work and work hard to give more good performances. (Is the trip to heal the wounds?) No." Then she said something strange: "Although my character in 'The Brink Of Law' is a villain and leads me to being scolded, but it gives me the chance to perform..." Her response is obviously hiding something. Afterwards, Gregory was contacted by phone about this and he said politely: "Thank you for your concern, everything is good and I just want to concentrate on my work."

Shirley Yeung Spotted On $263 Discount Shopping Spree

Although Shirley Yeung plays a character from a wealthy background in "The Brink Of Law," in real life, she practices extremely frugal habits. Shirley was spotted on a shopping spree with her mother in Kowloon City for one and half hour. First they stopped by a noodle place for lunch and then went to a variety store to buy household necessities, incurring total costs of $263 (HKD).

Around 4 PM, Shirley was spotted in Kowloon City with her mother. Shirley was driving a Toyota Echo, a fuel efficient car, looking for public parking on the street rather than paying for more expensive garage parking. Entering a beef noodle shop, they ordered a bowl of noodles, pan-fried dumplings, and some take-out food to share with each other. The total bill was only $63 (HKD).

Afterwards, Shirley and her mother went window shopping at a jewellery store. They also entered a discount furniture store but did not find anything suitable. Next they went to a variety store and immediately expressed excitement in buying daily household necessities. Carrying a toilet plunger and several bags of household products, Shirley picked up her car. After dropping off Mrs. Yeung, Shirley went home herself.

Several days later, Shirley was spotted again with her mother at a bank, discussing investment options. Shirley said to her mother, "How come you bought it at $18,000 (HKD)?" Mrs. Yeung remained silent as they ate at a Hong Kong style cafe. They ordered discount meals of the day and the total bill was $50 (HKD).

Reporters contacted Shirley afterwards regarding Mrs. Yeung spending $18,000 (HKD). Was it for investment purposes? Shirley said, "Let's not talk about it. Although we do have financial investments, but my mother takes care of them. I let her handle the financial investments as she is more skilled."

In response to being spotted on a discount shopping spree, Shirley said, "It's almost Lunar New Year, so we bought some new items for the house. It doesn't matter if it's a discount place or not, as we were buying household cleaning products. The store is pretty decent and it's unnecessary to pay extra money for household necessities."

Shirley & Nancy Judge Fresh "Minutes To Fame" Wannabes

After fashioning a craze, TVB's talent show "Minutes To Fame" will be returning to the screen in March and yesterday, the first round of heats were held at a Tseung Kwan O shopping mall. Two past winners of the contest were invited to relive their experiences and guest judges Shirley Yeung and Nancy Wu joined producer Chin Kwok Wai as the judges for the day. Several tens of hopefuls passed through the auditions and Nancy was particularly cruel in sending people off. She smiles that she has taken part in the New Talent Singing Contest in the past and has been 'pinged' off the stage, so this time she is seeking her revenge.

This is the first time that Shirley has been a judge for something like this and she feels that the most important thing is for the contestants to have confidence and entertainment value to keep the attention of the viewers. She says she has never auditioned people before and finds it quite exciting. However, she understands that the participants are quite nervous, so she will go easy on them.

Shirley has just returned from promoting her series "Always Ready" in Shanghai and she has enjoyed a special crab banquet on this trip, putting on some weight in the process. For the Chinese new year, she plans to join with some old classmates and friends and go on vacation to Europe for around a fortnight. She says she has not taken a break for a while now and it is quite difficult to find the time with her friends. Asked if her boyfriend will be going with them, she smiles she is not saying because everyone knows about her relationship and she does not need to keep talking about it. With her known to be quite careful with money, is she preparing some spending money to go shopping? She says she is used to this title now and she says that this trip is about sightseeing, so she will not be buying very much.

Shirley & Ron Take TVB To Xian

Shirley Yeung and Ron Ng continue their promotional tour to encourage people to watch genuine TVB productions in China and after visiting Shenzhen, their next stop was Xian, where they attended an event to reveal a plaque.

Ron and Shirley's series have been very popular in the mainland and when the fans found out that their idols would be visiting, they became very active and several hundred fans waited outside the TVB Image Station. Some fans had travelled from as far away as Yongchuan and Guizhou to see the stars, who were very touched by this. When Ron and Shirley appeared, there was a frenzy in the crowd as they held up banners and posters in support, called their names and presented them with flowers and gifts. Among the fans, there was an 80 year old lady who clutched onto a 2007 TVB calendar to show her support. Some fans were so excitable that they burst into tears.

To thank the fans for their support, Ron and Shirley played games with the fans and sung some songs for them. Ron sung the title song for "The Brink Of Law" and a number of fans were allowed on stage to present him with flowers. Shirley sung the song "Mice Loves Big Rice" and received rapturous applause. Finally, Ron and Shirley led the signatures on a petition to support the genuine film market in China.

Bowie Lam: Next #1 Brother Of TVB?

Bowie Lam and Shirley Yeung appeared in Shanghai to promote "Always Ready," which will be broadcast in mainland China soon. The series also features Ekin Cheng, who returned to TVB to film after a 7 year lapse. In TVB's 2007 calendar, Bowie's photo graced the month of January. Reporters commented that this was an indication of Bowie's prestigious position with TVB, that he was the #1 Brother. Deemed as the #1 Brother by the media and public, does Bowie feel immense pressure?

Bowie laughed, "There is no pressure. Having the proper skills is most important." But Bowie felt that there is considerable distance before attaining the #1 Brother position. Since entering the industry, it has almost been impossible to find news of Bowie's love life. In the past, he was rumored with Flora Chan and Gigi Lai, but he indicated that they were only friends. Bowie's close female friends in the industry also include Ada Choi and Shirley Yeung.