Pik-Sen Lim
Pik-Sen Lim | |
---|---|
Born |
Lim Phaik-Seng 15 September 1944 Penang, Malaysia |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1964–present |
Spouse(s) | Don Houghton |
Pik-Sen Lim (Chinese: 林碧笙, born 15 September 1944) is a Malaysian-Chinese-British actress who has appeared on British television since the 1960s. She is best known for playing the character of Su-Lee, the Chinese Communist student in the British sitcom Mind Your Language (1977–79) and playing the killer cleaner in Johnny English Reborn.
Early life
Lim was born under the name of Lim Phaik-Seng in Penang, Malaysia, Straits Settlements (occupied by Japan at the time of her birth), and was the daughter of the palm oil millionaire Lim Cheng-Teik. She attended convent school in Penang, where she was nicknamed "Pixie". Against the wishes of her family, she moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 16 to study at the London School of Dramatic Art. Here, she changed her name because her friends would pronounce "Phaik" as "fake".
Career
In 1964, she appeared in the hospital drama series Emergency – Ward 10, playing a nurse. There she met scriptwriter Don Houghton, whom she married. Her daughter by him, Sara Houghton, is also an actress, and they were once cast as mother and daughter in Three Thousand Troubled Threads. She also appeared in Don Houghton-scripted Doctor Who serial The Mind of Evil in 1971, and the first three seasons of the sitcom Mind Your Language speaking Hokkien as her Chinese language. Here, she had to speak in an exaggerated, stereotyped Chinese accent, even though her English is perfect.
Her later appearances are roles in the short-lived soap operas Albion Market (1985) and Night and Day (2003), as well as Arabian Nights (2000), The Bill (2005), and as a character in the comedy series Little Britain (2004).
She is the narrator of the video game Dark Souls.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1964-1967 | Emergency – Ward 10 | Nurse Kwei | |
1967 | Sorry I'm Single | Suzy | Series Regular |
1969 | The Gladiators | C-2 | |
1970 | The Flaxton Boys | Su Ling | |
1971 | Doctor Who | Captain Chin Lee | The Mind of Evil (3 episodes) |
1972 | Madame Sin | Nikko | |
1972 | General Hospital | Prem. Unit Nurse | |
1974 | Within These Walls | Sister Ling | |
1976 | The New Avengers | Sing - The Chinese Attache | "The Midas Touch" |
1977-1979 | Mind Your Language | Chung Su-Lee | Series Regular |
1978-1981 | Spearhead | Tsai Adams | Series Regular |
1979 | Angels | Dr. Yeo | |
1980 | The Professionals | Chai Ling | "Take Away" |
1980 | Shoestring | Phone Girl | "Mocking Bird" |
1985 | Albion Market | Ly Nhu Chan | |
1996 | Cracker | Wei Wei | "White Ghost" |
1998 | London's Burning | Mrs. Lau | |
2004 | Little Britain | Simone | |
2005 | The Bill | Dora Sim | |
2006 | The Ruby in the Smoke | Madame Sheng | |
2010 | Spirit Warriors | Beggar Woman | |
2011 | Casualty | Reiko Reid | Episode titled 'Clean Slate' |
2011 | Johnny English Reborn | Killer Cleaner | |
2012 | A Civil Arrangement | Madam Rene | TV Movie |
2013 | Holby City | Amy Cardle | "The Journey Home" |
2015 | Roald Dahl's Esio Trot | Mrs Wu |
Theatre
Year 1964 | Title The Bacchae of Euripides | Role Chorus | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie | Mrs Gao | Produced by Finborough Theatre. |
References
- Ooi, Teresa (16 February 1984), Good times, bad times., The Straits Times
External links
- Pik-Sen Lim at the Internet Movie Database
- Pik-Sen Lim at the British Film Institute's Screenonline