Dennis Chew grabs award for 118 role

SINGAPORE — The second season of 118 kicks off on Tuesday (Nov 29) with a bang as main cast member Dennis Chew brought home the Best Comedy Actor award for his performance as the adopted son of a coffee shop owner in long-running series at the recent 2016 Asia Rainbow TV Awards in Macau.

The show struck a chord with viewers when it first aired in October 2014 and was eventually given an extension of 65 episodes in the first season due to popular demand.

Chew shared his excitement and elation in a phone interview with Toggle on Monday from Macau: “This is my first overseas award ... I didn’t think Shunfeng would become a comedic character when I took on the role.”

Chew said he had learnt of the good news three weeks ago from his fellow 118 cast mates Chen Hanwei, Chew Chor Meng and Pan Ling Ling, and attended the awards ceremony without harbouring any hopes of winning.

“There are nominees from Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Iran and Bangladesh — in fact there are more than 22 countries participating in this awards ceremony, with more than 300 projects shortlisted,” he added.

According to Chew, there were three selected winners for his award category — one “Best” and two “Outstanding” winners. The winners go through two rounds of selection from a list of 10 and eventually five nominees.

The awards ceremony was also attended by other celebs from the region including Chinese actors Wang Kai, Zhu Yawen and Korean actor Sung Dong-il.

With filming for 118 currently ongoing, Chew said he was looking to resume work and intended to bring his trophy to the film set and share his win with his onscreen “family”.

“I’m definitely happy, I share a really good relationship with my ‘family’ and that makes it easier for us to immerse ourselves into the role,” he quipped.

Apart from Chew, other familiar faces at the awards ceremony included local jazz singer Joanna Dong and popular host Allan Wu.

“Newbie host” Dong walked home with the Outstanding Programme Host (Female) award for presenting the Channel U programme, Unique Towns; while Somewhere Out There, hosted by Wu, picked up the Best Social and Cultural Documentary award. JOANNA GOH/TOGGLE.SG