Hong Kong TV producer legend Robert Chua sees multimedia as future of industry
Recalling rich entertainment career that began when he was 18, the Singapore native reflects on what audiences want
Ask Hongkongers to name just one programme they fondly remember watching on TVB over the last half-century, and chances are high many a local resident will single out a programme from the station’s early golden days, Enjoy Yourself Tonight.
Etched in Hong Kong’s collective memory, the variety show was hugely popular, airing on what continues to be the city’s longest running free-to-air broadcaster. It was also the first local show to broadcast live and in colour.
On five nights a week from November 20, 1967 to October 7, 1994, it still boasts the distinction of being the longest-running live variety show in Asia.
Behind every good show toils a mastermind, and in the case of Enjoy Yourself Tonight, that person was Robert Chua Wah-peng. At the tender age of 21, Chua was and remains TVB’s youngest production executive in the history of the broadcaster, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last Sunday.