Pik-Sen Lim, the Penang-born British actress widely recognised for her role as Chinese student Chung Su-Lee in the popular sitcom Mind Your Language, has died at the age of 80. Lim passed away on Monday, June 9.
Born Lim Phaik-Seng in 1944, she moved to the United Kingdom at 17 to pursue acting. She later changed her given name to “Pik-Sen” after discovering that her British friends frequently mispronounced “Phaik” as “fake.”
A Decades-Spanning Career
Lim’s defining role came in Mind Your Language, which aired from 1977 to 1986. In the sitcom, she humorously portrayed a staunch follower of Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, often comically producing a little red book to dictate verses on communism. Despite her character’s broken English and Chinese accent, Lim was fluent in English.
Her career extended far beyond the sitcom, encompassing over 30 other film, drama, and television appearances between 1964 and 2023. She took on a variety of roles across genres, including a part in the science fiction series Doctor Who, playing Chin Lee in The Mind of Evil (1971). She also appeared in other British series such as the military drama Spearhead, Coronation Street, Casualty, Holby City, and The Bill.
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In recent years, Lim continued to work in television, featuring in series such as Vampire Academy, The Nevers, and This Way Up. On the big screen, she was remembered for her role as the killer cleaner in the 2011 movie Johnny English Reborn, starring opposite Rowan Atkinson.
The British Film Institute has described Pik-Sen Lim as the most recognisable Chinese actress on British television throughout the 1970s and 80s. Fellow actor Daniel Y Loh paid tribute to her, describing her as “A joyous person, full of love and laughter and mischief, she was so much fun to be around and her gift for comedy was such that you always felt safe in front of an audience with her, that absolutely unique voice and vivacious energy carrying us all with her.”
Lim, who was the granddaughter of oil palm estate millionaire Lim Cheng Teik, leaves behind a significant legacy in British television history.
