My awkward moment: Edwin Goh

SINGAPORE — While actor Edwin Goh wouldn’t go so far as to agree with Matilda’s Miss Trunchbull that children are maggots, he does admit to not being great with children.

It’s a bit of a worry, seeing as he’s the host of okto’s We Are Awesome, a new magazine show for children that tackles topics ranging from news to science to life skills. On top of being a first-time host (Goh called it a “terrifying” prospect), he had to deal with kids as his programme guests as well.

“Hosting is quite a new thing to me and this is with kids, so it’s double the scariness,” Goh confessed.

“There are some game segments where we go to East Coast Park and play games with kids. Those are really awkward,” he said, if only because “I don’t really have a grasp on how to interact with them”.

“Singaporean kids are quite shy — and so am I,” he continued. “At the end of the game, I congratulate them and give them high fives.”

The most awkward moment came when a five-year-old girl decided she didn’t want to high five him back. “I reached out for a high five, but I got none in return. I said, ‘High five!’, but she didn’t respond. So, I just sort of looked into the camera and frowned,” he laughed. “I don’t know if they’ll put it on TV!”

But he isn’t going to adopt the maxim “never work with children and animals” just because of one awkward encounter.

“After a while, you get into the rhythm of it. You just sort of have to be confident and sort of know what you’re talking about,” he said. “It’s a fun show with high energy. The way it’s put together is like a cartoon, so I like it a lot.”

Catch We Are Awesome starting Saturday (Aug 2) at 12.30pm.