118 returns for second season with new additions

SINGAPORE — Long-form drama 118 returns for a second season with the addition of three new main cast members: Bryan Wong, Jeanette Aw and Elvin Ng, who will be shaking up the action in the heartland coffee shop run by Chew Chor Meng and Pan Ling Ling.

Wong plays a housing agent and car salesman who happens to rent a room to Aw’s character who, along with her father, are members of the mafia. “About half of the cast gets beaten up by her,” Wong giggled. The two characters are constantly at loggerheads, but later become romantically involved.

“I play a triad member who likes to fight,” Aw concurred. “When I don’t like someone and think they deserve a whacking, I beat them up.”

Wong added: “It’s really interesting because she’s no longer that demure Jeanette — she’s going to be this mafia girl. And for me, I’m no longer playing the clever, witty person. I play a wallflower. Whenever there’s a big group, he disappears and is quite non-existent, until he finally utters a sentence or two and everyone realises, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s still here’.”

Wong revealed that his character actually suffers from verbal diarrhoea when he does speak up. “I’m envious of Elvin because from Episode 1 to 50, he doesn’t have more than 10 lines.”

Ng plays the newly-acquired bodyguard of the character played by Ya Hui. “All I do is protect my wantan mee girl,” Ng quipped. “He’s very cool — he just stands there and doesn’t have to speak,” Wong said of his character.

We’d say the casting director did a pretty good job, since Wong is known for being a motormouth and Ng, well, isn’t. May Seah

Catch 118 Season 2 starting Nov 29, weekdays at 7.30pm on Mediacorp TV Channel 8.