'Why should I treat them?' Ex-TVB bus driver spills tea on Hong Kong 'A-list actor' being stingy

He may not be directly working in showbiz, but one bus driver previously contracted by TVB has gossip to share about the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

The man, going by Huang, recently called up the radio show Good Morning King, hosted by Sammy Leung, Kitty Yuen and actress Kaki Leung, and spilled the tea on an actor he had negative experiences with.

Huang recalled that he once drove TVB artistes to a location shoot for a food show, and claimed that this unnamed actor — whom he described as an A-lister now but was a newbie back then — came back onto the bus to sleep halfway through.

"After taking his shots, he got back into the bus to take a nap," Huang recounted. "He lay down sideways on the back seat with his feet hanging onto the footrest and didn't even close the door."

When the others returned, Huang went to adjust the seats so it would be easier for staff to load their equipment onto the bus, and the actor allegedly yelled at him: "What are you doing?"

At the next location, the crew asked to alight in the middle of the road due to space constraints, but the actor seemingly made no move to join them in getting off the bus.

When Huang began to drive off, the actor allegedly screamed at him again: "What are you doing? I haven't alighted yet!"

That's not all, because Huang then claimed this actor was stingy as well.

He allegedly wanted to treat the crew to a meal after an outdoor shoot, but singled out some members including Huang and said: "These six aren't direct TVB employees, why should I treat them?"

Sammy, 50, cut in and said that was "not okay" while Kaki, 42, said: "Even a B-lister like me would treat everyone!"

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The venue manager allegedly told Huang that the actor felt "cheated out of his money", leading Huang to tell the former: "I'll pay HK$120 (S$20) for the six of us. If there's money left, you tell him I'll treat him to tea and ask him not to be so stingy."

After Huang, another man who claimed to also be a TVB driver called the radio show to share a similar experience.

Only going by Ah M, the man prefaced his account: "The person Huang was talking about might not be the same as mine."

He shared that the crew had gone for an outdoor shoot with an actor who seemed to be "in a good mood" and wanted to treat them. Ah M added that the drivers were "so happy" and sat down to eat together.

"No one expected him to suddenly say, 'Only the food's on me, captain!' That was ridiculous — he wanted us to pay HK$2 for drinks. I might as well pay for the whole meal myself!"

The actor — or actors — in question were not revealed on the show, though Sammy did ask the drivers to tell him "after we go off air".

When asked if it could be Moses Chan, Sammy disagreed: "Moses Chan is a good person!"

Kaki added: "Moses and Kenneth Ma are known to be great guys, so they couldn't be on the list (of stingy and rude actors)!"

At this, Sammy quipped: "Why'd you mention Kenneth Ma too? You eliminated so many people, how many A-listers are even left?"

Netizens were left speculating who the actor Huang was talking about could be, with some suggesting veterans Vincent Wong, Ron Ng or Joel Chan because they had been with TVB for a long time.

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drimac@asiaone.com