Nina Paw, the humble ATV star who put family before fame and fortune
Known as the 'treasure of ATV', she spent 33 years at the station and reflects on the good times and how the broadcaster lost its way
Nina Paw Hee-ching dedicated the best years of her life to ATV. Not once during a glittering 33-year career did the award-winning actress seriously think of leaving the television station she regarded as family.
The veteran star - affectionately called Paw Jie or Sister Paw, by people in the entertainment industry because of the elder sister and mother figures she has played for much of her career - had never stepped outside ATV until she switched to Ricky Wong Wai-kay's Hong Kong Television Network in late 2012.
This was the point at which she felt there was nothing more she could do with the struggling station as it no longer produced its own dramas.
Needless to say, Paw could not help but feel sad when the government decided last Wednesday not to renew ATV's licence because of the lack of a sustainable business plan.
"I contributed my best time of my life to ATV … The television station has given out lots of positive energy. ATV staff have been discriminated against but have always worked hard," she told Commercial Radio two days after the announcement.
When mainland investor Wong Ching took over ATV in 2010, he claimed he would transform it into the "CNN of Asia". Resources were put mostly into news and talk shows, while the production of drama series was cut drastically.
"I just hosted infotainment shows. It was not the artistic life for an actress and should not be an artiste's major job," Paw sighed. "I found myself useless there."