Book on TVB Culture: Lam's foul-mouthed, Ng's mean

HONG KONG - A former assistant of TVB stars has written a book about the vicious corporate culture at the station and singled out two actors for their bad behaviour, says Apple Daily.

One star, tagged as Chok Fung in the book, is extremely foul-mouthed and another, identified only as Smelly Shrimp Man, is mean to colleagues, says the former assistant known as Pseudo-writer.

Apple Daily says the two actors described in the book are clearly Raymond Lam (whose Chinese name is Lam Fung and who is known for being ''chok'' or affected) and Ron Ng.

According to the newspaper, Pseudo-writer started to attack TVB on Facebook last year and his new book, whose Chinese title translates as TVB Blood, Tears And Faeces, is drawn largely from those posts.

The book will be released on Monday, with a foreword by former TVB general manager Stephen Chan, says Apple Daily.

Pseudo-writer has said his posts are based on the seven months he worked for TVB in 2007, on dramas including 2008's The Four, starring Lam and Ng, both 34.

According to the book, Smelly Shrimp Man is gentle and obedient when he speaks to the producer, but arrogant to others.

Once, the actor needed a stunt double for a demanding action scene, but was rude to the stuntman later, complaining about his stench when the two left the location in the same vehicle, says Pseudo-writer.

As the perspiring stuntman alighted, the actor suddenly said loudly: ''That smelly person should alight first, he's so smelly.''

Another passage in the book is directed at Chok Fung. Pseudo-writer says the star is not a bad person, apart from his foul language.

He then asks the star not to ''greet my mother the moment you meet me the next time''.

Pseudo-writer says he worked long days at TVB and had no time for his personal life, so his girlfriend left him.

He also highlights the ''vicious circle'' of bullying at the station. He writes: ''Those in high positions abuse those in low positions and when those in low positions are promoted to high positions, they start to abuse those in low positions.''

Chan tells Apple Daily he does not know Pseudo-writer personally, but was led to the book by a former colleague.

He calls the book a work of ''faction'' - or fictionalised fact - and says readers should read it to be entertained, rather than to identifiy the stars described in the book.

This article was published on April 10 in The Straits Times.

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