Savio Tsang Reveals Why He Joined HKTV

Working for ATV, TVB, and now HKTV, Savio Tsang’s (曾偉權) face is easily recognized by many drama viewers. Although a leading star at ATV in the 1980s, Savio’s prominence declined at TVB in the 1990s. Hoping to change his work environment and have more opportunities, Savio joined upstart station HKTV in 2012.

Savio’s Roles at HKTV a Mirror Of His Past?

While contracted with TVB, Savio was known primarily for his 13-year dating relationship with actress Cutie Mui (梅小惠). However, despite over a decade of dating, the two broke off their relationship after Savio fell for Malaysian artiste Yip Lai Yee (葉麗儀). Overnight, Savio’s good image disappeared and his career suffered since then.

Unfortunately for Savio, he is now reliving his past at HKTV. In HKTV’s dramas, The Election <選戰 > and To Be or Not To Be <來生不做香港人>, Savio plays the role of a husband who cheats on his wife with another woman in both dramas.

Savio angrily expressed, “In this society, people will always remember the bag things – they usually forget the good. Who would remember how many awards you’ve won, how many times you’ve become TV King or Queen? But if you do one bad thing like smoke one cigarette, use a drug once – people will remember you forever!”

After breaking up with Cutie, Savio’s relationship with Yip Lai Yee only lasted three years. Afterward, Savio was romantically linked with a woman whom resembled Cutie and was considerably younger in age. Denying that dating news, Savio said she was a god-sister to him. Since he is already 53 years old, Savio firmly said he would no longer actively pursue dating, but will focus on his acting career instead.

Leaves Comfort Zone in Pursuit of Greater Opportunities

Viewers may know Savio as a supporting actor at TVB, but he was in fact a leading ATV actor in the 1980s. Initially attracted to working for TVB, Savio ultimately made the decision that cost his leading actor status. In 1990, Savio joined TVB but was only given miscellaneous roles that failed to make an impression on the audience. Savio slaved 20 years at the station, only taking on meager roles.

Savio said, “I left ATV and TVB because of the same reason – I wanted change. When you spend a long time at a station without improvement, another opportunity will come along. When Ricky Wong (王維基) approached me, he was persuasive and I was attracted to the idea. I’ve been at TVB for many years and I wanted to try something new. Actually, it’s just finding an opportunity for myself to make a breakthrough. I hope that I can spring back up. Whether or not I become successful, at least I left my comfort zone. I can gain experience from different areas.”

This article is written by Su for JayneStars.com.

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Responses

  1. just finished to be or not to be with maggie and i loved it…watching him in the election now and love it even more too…very good job so far from hktv

  2. Ya know I do actually feel bad for this guy.. But he reaped what he sowed. Dont cheat and you’ll be alright. But cheat once and you’ll forever be labeled as a bad person…esp since Cutie has a lot of public clout on her side.

    Brad Pitt was still fending off labels for being a jerk for leaving Jen Anniston, until they both decided to do some good public PT together to minimize damage.

    He just didn’t know how to handle his relationships well in the public eye but who’s fault was it that put him there..

    1. Unfortunately, him cheating on Cutie Mui is much more memorable than any role he has ever played at TVB. But he should be well aware of how unforgiving HK (or rather, his middle-aged female fans) can be when it comes to an actor cheating on his long-time girlfriend or wife. Look at Gallen Law and Marco Ngai. Don’t blame society for being unforgiving, take some responsibility for his own actions. The least he could have done was shown Cutie Mui some respect by breaking up with her before hooking up with another women. You can’t blame a person for not loving his/her partner anymore, after all feelings change and passion dies. However, you can blame a person for acting like a jerk.

      1. Well, I wouldn’t compare Savio with Marco Ngai – at least Savio admitted he was wrong for cheating on Cutie and also that he didn’t handle the matter in the appropriate way (this was all part of the original article in Chinese, which didn’t make it into the translation – actually, there was a lot of stuff from the original article that wasn’t translated).  Also, let’s not forget that Marco truly acted like a jerk after he broke up with Joyce, continuing to bash her and talk crap about her instead of moving on like a real man should have – in comparisons, Savio never bad-mouthed Cutie and in fact, was remorseful for hurting her.  He did admit that there were already problems in their (him and Cutie’s) relationship even before the other woman came into the picture, but still, that does not justify his actions.  Looking at Savio and Marco, I definitely respect Savio way more!

  3. I know it is not right for Savio Tsang to cheat on his girlfriend, Cutie Mui. Unfortunately he was cheating on the younger sister of Mui Siu Ching who was an influential producer in TVB.

    1. Haha good point. Plus Mui Siu Ching and Lau Ka Ho are husband and wife so I guess he really burned bridges with both of those producers.

      I never knew much about Savio’s personal life until this article. So it’s pretty interesting. Surprised that he’s still single at his age.

  4. HKTV’s drama, The Election/選戰, is a “must” watch. But, airing one (1) episode every Saturday is two thumbs waaaay down. Booooooooo

    1. His personal life aside, I always felt that he was a good actor, but watching his performance in The Election really allowed him to show his range in acting. I think he is a much better now than he ever was at TVB (again, I’m sure he always had this acting skill, but never had the opportunities to showcase it).

      1. So far, seems like Savio Tsang is playing mostly “flawed” good-for-nothing type roles. He looks familiar.

        And, most of the actors/actresses have good/decent acting skills. Not too much PS, which is nice.

        HKTV can expand into the music industry since this area is lacking.

      2. HKTV can expand into movies as well after they perfect the lighting (too much glare sometimes), which is inconsistent across dramas.

    2. Yes the one episode a week was the reason I stopped watching Election altogether.

      1. It’s like american shows with their one episode per week, doesn’t stop me from watching those though.

        Just save it up then watch later I guess/

      2. I stopped for now until the series completes airing. I can’t stand watching one episode per week.

      3. Yeah I’ll probably wait till the series completes airing before I watch. Used to the 5 episodes per week format where I get to watch something every week night. I watched Police Boundaries and Hakka Sisters though. The former was good. The latter started out promising but became draggy towards the middle.

      4. I finished To Be Or Not To Be and watching The Borderline now. Can’t complain really. It’s refreshing to see all these “competent” actors/actresses and the behind the scenes team. And, no language barrier to boot. It really makes me wonder why TVB has to go and import beauty pageant participants with language barrier and promote them as leads. Hmmm…

    3. Just imagine that you were waiting for Tiger Cubs 2 on Sundays.

      1. Uhm, but it’s not the same feeling. So far, the urge to watch the next episode of The Election is much greater. 🙂

  5. His personal life aside, I always felt that he was a good actor, but watching his performance in The Election really allowed him to show his range in acting. I think he is a much better now than he ever was at TVB (again, I’m sure he always had this acting skill, but never had the opportunities to showcase it).

  6. He is a good actor and well-kept too, does not look like 53.

  7. He was always one of my favorite supporting actors at TVB and I always wished they would promote him more because he has a ton of talent.

    It was depressing to see his roles diminish every year to 10 minute guest star roles. Then he got Tiger Cubs and I thought it was starting to look up for him. I guess not 🙁

    Glad he found a bit more happiness at HKTV and I pray they give him the opportunities that he needs to break out and impress more people.
    He has talent enough for movies, but it’s almost impossible to get decent dramatic movies out of HK recently that arent comedy/trashy or already populated by the usual suspects.

    A shame about the dating/private life thing, I never knew that part about him and that kind of makes me like him a bit less, but 13 years is a long time to be with someone and even most marriages dont last that long – so at least he gave it a go.

    Wish him the best in the future and hope he doesn’t give up his dreams and keeps trying. Eventually I believe it will pay off and he will get more roles.

  8. Maybe Cutie and Savio will get back one day. I Iike watching Cutie, too bad she doesn’t act anymore. Who’s Yip Lai Yee, Frances Yip??

    1. I don’t think this Yip Lai Yee is the Hong Kong’s Frances Yip. She is an actress from Malaysia, and younger than Cutie Mui.

  9. I don’t think this Yip Lai Yee is the Hong Kong Frances Yip. She is an actress from Malaysia, and is younger than Cutie Mui

  10. Still remember Savio Tsang from his ATV days…. His stardom plummeted shortly after joining TVB, even before his relationship ended badly with Cutie. Towards the end of his TVB career, it was as if he stopped trying as hard in his performances.

    1. too much competition in those days,he joins tvb in the 90ties,there are actors like ekin,gallen,louis,aron kwok,felix,bobby,nick cheung,cheung waikin,adam chen,etc no wonder he has been downgraded to supporting.

  11. Savio Tsang was pretty good looking when he was young. He should maintain a good body like Michael Miu if he wants to shine again in HKTV. He has gained quite a few pounds to make him look a middle-aged person.

  12. I really enjoy the To Be or Not to Be,, really good,, I actually really really love it,, Maggie still the best usual,,

    Savio did a super good job,, he is really good looking,, I met him in person,, very sweet and nice

  13. I also enjoyed watching “To Be or Not to Be”. All the lead artistes, such as Maggie Cheung, Prudence Lau, Poon Cheng Leung and Savio Tsang, did a very good job. I particularly enjoyed watching the already dead relationship between the two sisters to grow again. It was really touching.

    Both Maggie and Prudence looked very pretty in the drama series. It was my very first time watching Prudence Lau. She has such a strong and good voice. No wonder she was a popular singer in music industry many years ago.

    1. I too really enjoyed “To Be or Not To Be”.

      This series is also the first time I’ve watched Prudence Lau. Never heard of her till this series.

      I think HKTV series is much better than TVB series. TVB is all about promoting “new” actors and actress that can’t act or speak cantonese.

      I like how this series touches on all the subjects that Hong Kong people are going through. Whether its Mainland Chinese women going to HK to birth their child… or having simplified Chinese characters on their menu… (I feel for the HKers… but then again…way back when the British took over HK, HKer had to evolve for the British)

  14. No wonder I have not seen him in a while on TVB. Its a shame as he is a very good actor. TVB has lost a lot of good supporting players. Can’t blame the actors as they have to take this risk to get bigger and better roles. Hope their gamble will pay off.

    1. It’s already paying off.  Savio was excellent in both The Election and To Be or Not To Be – the 2 roles that he had in there are better than all of the roles he had at TVB the past 10 years.  Also both series have gotten a lot of great feedback as well as critical acclaim (rightfully so, of course!).  With the mediocre fare that TVB has been churning out in recent years, it’s refreshing to finally be able to watch series that have well-written scripts with depth to them, top notch acting from competent actors and actresses, and also stunning visual effects (credits to the real location filming).  Great job so far, HKTV!

  15. Hmmm…looks like my comment got deleted for some reason, so I’m reposting it (hope it doesn’t get deleted again…):

    It’s already paying off.  Savio was excellent in both The Election and To Be or Not To Be – the 2 roles that he had in there are better than all of the roles he had at TVB the past 10 years.  Also both series have gotten a lot of great feedback as well as critical acclaim (rightfully so, of course!).  With the mediocre fare that TVB has been churning out in recent years, it’s refreshing to finally be able to watch series that have well-written scripts with depth to them, top notch acting from competent actors and actresses, and also stunning visual effects (credits to the real location filming).  Great job so far, HKTV!

  16. ya hktv is 4 for 4 so far with their tv shows…no wonder they didn’t give them their license, cus if they had their license tvb ratings would drop even more, they are already in the 20s, probably drop into the 15-20 mark, which is sad

    1. Maybe sad for TVB but not sad for viewers, who now have better and more choices of things to watch. 🙂

      Monopolies tend to slack off when nothing else is there to push/threaten their position.

      “Competition benefits consumers.”

    2. I haven’t started Once Upon a Song yet, so for me, it’s 3 for 3 right now (The Borderline, The Election, and To Be or Not To Be were all excellent!).   HKTV’s variety shows are pretty good too:  The Challenge was pretty intense and the views were breathtaking (definitely felt for the artists who participated – very brave of them) and the interview show Hot Talk is quite interesting (I like how they interview the ‘big names’ such as Felix Wong, Paw Hee Ching, etc. as well as the lesser known artists (such as Catherine Chau, Crystal Leung, etc.) who rarely ever get a chance to be interviewed. 

      So far, HKTV is doing all the right things.  Their approach to filming series is very different from TVB (which is one reason why their series are so well-made) as well as from what the HK television industry is used to, which is both a good and bad thing depending on which side you look at it from — definitely good for us audiences/consumers because we get to see quality series but bad for TVB and the HK television industry to some extent because it highlights their deficiencies (as well as the fact that the TV industry has put up with the deficiencies for so long)…it’s definitely a wake-up call for TVB and the HK television industry.  Whether HKTV will get a license or not remains to be seen (I still have doubts due to the corrupt HK government), but to me, they’ve already proven with their programs that they are worthy of a license.  I will gladly continue to support them!

      1. agree that hktv drama so far so good but the interview show is just a joke,the female host is not suitable in my opinion. if you have felix and all the big names in your show than i think the host is too “lightweight”,at least hire a dodo level presenter to host the show.

      2. Well, Rain Lau has always had that bubbly personality – she’s okay once you get used to her (though I do agree that despite being a talented actress, hosting is definitely not her forte). She IS the most experienced one industry-wise out of the 3 hosts though so it makes sense why they would have her be the main host. But yea, unfortunately, the hosting piece is one area where HKTV won’t be able to compete with TVB, since they (TVB) still have all the big name hosts (unless HKTV recruits some of the old-timer ‘golden’ hosts who don’t currently work for TVB  – which is entirely possible given how they’ve gotten artists to come out of retirement just to film series for them – only thing is that it most likely wouldn’t be long term…).

    3. maybe tvb ratings will drop more but in the end its good for the quality of their dramas because tvb have to make better dramas to survive. its time that tvb face a tough competitor.

    4. i think it could be the reason why tvb is lending a helping hand to atv. if atv fails then there’d be only 1 tv station and the stupid hk gov can’t use the same reason to reject hktv.

  17. ya i dont care if its hktv or tvb, i just want to watch better quality and more interesting tv shows…i havent watched a full tvb show from start to finish in like 5 years i think…but so far im watching all 4 hktv shows from start to finish and not even skipping and fast forwarding through scenes

    1. I don’t care if it’s HKTV or TVB, I just want to watch better quality and more interesting TV drama series.

      1. yes people are getting tired of the same old tvb stuff, its really getting boring…its almost like they talking all tvbs flaws and making them better

        hope better days for hk television is right ahead…seeing the good quality series that hktv is making, tvb should have no choice but to make better dramas for us now

  18. I thought Savio is dating this lady called SaSa leung, I follow them on weibo lol. She post a lot of photo of him on her weibo.

    1. @ping0: The original article actually talks about this — Savio explains very clearly his relationship with Sasa (according to him, it’s not what people think it is). He also talks about where he is at with his life and career as well as his current attitude toward relationships.

  19. im happy for all the actors and actresses at hktv, they are part of a revolution in HK television…everything that hktv has done has been great, its how 21st century chinese tv should be like…tvb is old and lame, if they dont change they will be eliminated in time

    1. yes tvb need to change but i dont believe in the current managers of tvb,they sucks great times.they are more concerned how to compete with each other than bring tvb back to their glory days.

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