Ali Lee Dropped from “Children’s Hospital”

Slated to begin filming next month, the upcoming TVB medical drama Children’s Hospital <兒童醫院> stars Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎), Kenneth Ma (馬國明), Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣), Catherine Chau (周家怡), and Him Law (羅仲謙). Ali Lee (李佳芯) was among the actresses in talks to star in the main cast, but talks fell through.

According to producer Ben Fong (方俊華), he already wanted to cast Ali when his team were doing casting rounds. As TVB was unable to provide Ali’s schedule to Ben in a timely fashion, he had no other choice but to drop her.

Reports say The Defected <鐵探> actress Bowie Cheung (張寶兒) has taken her place as a replacement, but the producer denied the rumor. “Bowie already has a role on the show,” he said. “She won’t be replacing [Ali].” According to sources, Bowie will be playing an anesthesiologist.

Ali’s role is currently open for casting. Ben has found it regretful that he won’t be collaborating with Ali for Chidlren’s Hospital.

Ali’s last TVB drama was Amelia’s Rhapsody <愛美麗狂想曲>, which completed filming in October 2019. While she has appeared in variety shows since then, she had no dramas lined up. She was also dropped from filming the sequels of The Legal Mavericks <踩過界> and Big White Duel <白色強人>, both which Ali had earned critical acclaim.

TVB’s hesitance to cast Ali in dramas could be stemmed from a controversial Instagram post she made last summer, in which she urged her followers to vote in the Hong Kong elections. Her post had upset many mainland Chinese netizens, forcing TVB to put her career on hold. As Children’s Hospital is co-produced by a Chinese studio, TVB is being careful with the drama’s casting choices.

Source: HK01.com