Hi Michelle! So what have you been up to recently?
Well, as you know I host a breakfast show on RTHK 1. I also film stuff for TV and I have columns in two local newspapers. And two nights each week I host a TV game show. I’m also Isabella Leong’s [ex-girlfriend of Richard Li, son of billionaire boss Li Ka-shing] publicist. But I had an operation last year, and because I was so busy I was never able to fully recover. I thought to myself, ‘I need to make a decision’. So just recently I gave up the radio, and also the TV hosting job.

Oh no! But isn’t radio your absolute favourite?
It is, but it also takes the most out of me. The hours are long, and there’s lots of preparation involved every single day. And anyway, I’ve been invited to write a movie script by [TVB executive] Lok Yik Ling…

Wait. Aren’t you supposed to be taking on less work?
Hey, when is an opportunity like this every going to come up again? I’ve never written a movie script before, and she’s giving me this opportunity! I’d be crazy not do take it!

So what’s it going to be about?
The main gist of it is a HK-style Sex and the City. But Hongkongers are really weird. Imagine taking a vibrator out. [Screams] “Oh my god!!!” I’m not even sure Hongkongers know what they are. There’s a fake openness, but a real conservativeness going on. So how are we going to make it so that it’s still within people’s comfort zones?

Is that Hong Kong to you?
Oh, Hong Kong people are so complicated. They’re cute yet horrible. Say, a typical Hong Kong girl – they’re really superficial and materialistic. They’re whiny, they’re fussy. They give little, but expect a lot. But that’s just the packaging. Hong Kong girls are just afraid. They fear losing out, they fear sacrifice, and they fear compromise. So they put up all these defences. It’s ironic.

And what of Hong Kong’s youth?
There’s all these labels – post-80s, post-90s – but I’m actually quite supportive of the fact that they’re standing up to voice out their thoughts and views, their disapproval of society, or fighting for their own rights. In fact, silence implies consent – now, that’s scary.

We love your fearlessness, but within the industry you’re known as “Mother of the paparazzi”. You okay with that?
I don’t mind. Paparazzi is just a method. Like a surgeon with a scalpel, it’s just a tool – you can save someone or kill someone with it. Morally, I have no problem with it. Back in the day, I brought the paparazzi culture with me, so maybe that’s how it came about. But I’m not that big. I didn’t invent it, nor did I propel it. I just participated. I’m not that historical!

So who do you most admire?
Oh, there are so many. But the late James Wong Jim is my number one idol. Not only was he a director, he was also a brilliant lyricist, a talk show host, and he wrote columns. He was so multi-talented he even wrote biographies for famous people. And his work has affected so many.

We have to ask: What’s up with Louis Yuen Siu-cheung dressing up in drag and impersonating you?
The resemblance is uncanny, isn’t it? [Laughs] It’s all him – I had no idea beforehand. Last year, a magazine reporter called to tell me about it and asked “are you angry?” And I said, “I don’t even know what it’s about.” So they sent me the YouTube link, and afterward, I was literally on the floor laughing. And the reporter asked me again, “so, are you angry?” and I replied, “how could I be angry? He’s done such a good job!”

Tina Leung