PUBLISHED ONJuly 09, 2026 7:13 AMBYYeo Shu HuiLocal former actress Yang Libing reunited with her co-stars of the 1988 hit local series On The Fringe in the first episode of her new talk show Bing Ke Qin Tan.
The show, which the 60-year-old helms with former TV host Zhu Yongqin, was released on YouTube and social media on July 3, with former actors Chen Bifeng, Duan Weiming and Wen Jiahong appearing as guests.
While they shot to fame in 1988 after starring in the series, they have since led different lives away from the spotlight.
Bifeng, 61, said: "I now focus on a life that is different from my past and look forward to leading a quieter life. But I also need to make a living, so I am currently involved in teaching speech and drama."
She added that her focus is on Mandarin and teaches students aged from three to the 80s.
Weiming, who is best known for playing coffee shop assistant Ah Cai in local drama series Neighbours (1986 to 1988), is focused on living in the present now. He also acted in the first two seasons of multilingual TV series 128 Circle (2019, 2022).
The 65-year-old, who has diabetes and had his left leg amputated after an infection in 2022, said: "I've already forgotten most of my past. Especially in the past few years, I only focused on living the life I wanted.
"These days I wake up and only think about what I want to do and do it, it's that simple. Those complicated times are all in the past and I don't think about them anymore, that's what I want to do now."
Weiming told Lianhe Zaobao in a 2021 interview about how his life hit rock bottom in the late 1980s after being charged for running a karaoke bar without a licence. During the same period, his father died, his wife wanted a divorce, his contract with the television station wasn't renewed, and he had a mountain of debts.
Jiahong, whose age isn't revealed, shared that before he entered local showbiz in 1987, he had already been accepted into a foreign university, which he delayed for a year to fulfil his acting contract.
After acting in On The Fringe, he went on to get a degree in architecture and finance and joined the relevant industry after graduation, moving to Shanghai in 1995 for work and staying there for close to two decades before returning to Singapore.
He is still involved in the real estate business now and is semi-retired.
On The Fringe focused on the growing pains of a group of youths with broken families and also starred Li Nanxing, Lin Meijiao, Huang Yiliang and Zheng Wanling.
Bifeng, Weiming and Jiahong, together with Libing, who is now a real estate agent and goes by the name Emily Yeo, also reminisced about the time they filmed the series and shared a few interesting accounts.
Jiahong said while he was working in China around 1996, his Shanghainese secretary approached him with a question: "She asked me, 'There's a drama broadcasting in Shanghai now, and one of the actors look like you.'
"I was surprised to hear that this drama was also shown in Shanghai, and I heard from my secretary, although I can't verify if it's true, that it did quite well there because such genres were not available in their TV offering [at the time]."
He also recounted the hectic filming schedule then and that they filmed for six days consecutively without rest.
"I remember we filmed a scene at Orchard Road on one of the days; I believed it was behind where The Centrepoint is located now. The four of us sat there and waited till about 3 to 4am. In the end, we were so tired that we slept on the road for about one to two hours."
They also recounted a few scenes where they had to ice skate, and Weiming said he was better at it because he learnt especially for his role.
Libing and Bifeng also brought up their other co-stars such as Meijiao, Nanxing and Wanling.
"Some of them are not in Singapore while some are probably busy. You probably wanted to see a certain someone, but too bad," Libing quipped.
Bifeng then said she hoped to see that "certain someone" on the show, which left her and Libing in laughter.
Yongqin, 64, joined in: "Speaking of this certain someone, while you were filming the series, besides the four of you here, that certain someone was quite handsome, were any of you attracted to him?"
While they didn't name the person, it was apparent they were all referring to the same actor.
Bifeng, whose character Meifeng had a crush on Chen Yong, played by Nanxing, responded: "No, there weren't sparks between us."
Yongqin asked: "Was it you who didn't have sparks with him or was it her (Libing), who didn't?"
After a few back-and-forth about the male actor, Libing took the cue and said: "Did I have sparks with him? We were already attracted to each other."
When Yongqin commented that she met the "certain someone" from that drama, she clarified they had already known each other since the drama Sunshine After Rain (1987).
In that series, Libing played Chen Yarong, while Nanxing played Wu Jingtang.
For those who aren't aware, Libing and Nanxing married in 1994 and divorced in 2004, citing irreconcilable differences. She told Lianhe Zaobao in an interview in February that there is no animosity between them, and she is willing to act with him in a drama again if there is an opportunity.
Yongqin also encouraged them to reveal more behind-the-scene tidbits while filming the series, including "Libing and a certain someone dating in secret before announcing their relationship later".
Libing responded candidly: "In my point of view, there was no such thing as dating in secret. We were open about it. He would carry my bag to work, we would eat meals and go out together. We just didn't hold hands [in public]."
When Yongqin asked if he could reveal this person's name in their show, Libing said it's not preferable.
"We still have to protect him, since it's all in the past now," she said.
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