The cast of Growing Up has reunited 30 years after the drama aired.
The 1996 series centred around the Tay family set against the backdrop of Singapore from the 1960s to 1980s.
Local actress Amy Cheng – who played the wife of the eldest son Gary (Andrew Seow) – recently shared a photo taken with the cast as well as the show’s executive producer and director Ng Say Yong.
Joining her was former actress Irin Gan, who played one of the Tay family’s daughters Vicky, Lim Kay Tong and Wee Soon Hui, who starred as Mr and Mrs Tay, as well as Ivan Tay, who was Gary’s best buddy Kheng Joo in the drama.
The series also starred Steven David Lim as the second son David.
“A very easy afternoon with colleagues from our Mediacorp days – catching up, laughing and talking about the work we still love,” wrote Amy in her Instagram post on Sept 21.
The 56-year-old added jokingly: “The ease and camaraderie were still there, well, at least on my part.”
Netizens in the comments section said their reunion “brings back good memories”.
“Growing up back then, growing old now,” remarked one netizen.
Another said: “I feel so many emotions seeing this photo. I remember the strong father and wise mother.”
One commenter said the post “healed” him.
“They don’t make TV shows like that anymore. Growing Up was formative to my childhood. I wish they rebooted the series with a new generation of Tays during the 90s to the present day,” he said.
Amy replied with a thoughtful message and a heart emoji: “All of us (including cast members who were not present as well as crew members across the years) appreciate the fact that stories from this series has connected in different ways.”
The cast’s last reunion was in 2021 for an On the Red Dot special episode.
The get-together then saw Kay Tong, Soon Hui and Jamie Yeo who starred as younger daughter Tammy.
The character was helmed by three different actresses over three seasons, starting with Fann Wong’s younger sister Fan Wen Qing and Quek Sue-Shan.
While Irin has largely stayed out of the spotlight, 56-year-old Andrew has switched industries and currently works as an auxiliary police officer.
A full Tay family reunion may not be possible as Steven revealed in 2023 that he had conflicts with a co-star whom he did not name.
Before the start of the second season, he said he was called into the production office because there were letters of complaint about him, and he eventually suspected that a co-star might be trying to get him fired from the show.
The 53-year-old said the person made things difficult for him on set, that the “animosity” and “weirdness” between them might have affected his career at Mediacorp and made him leave to a certain extent.
Growing Up concluded in 2001 after six seasons.
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