Chu Suet-mui Retires From Long-Running Radio Drama
SingTao · 1 SOURCESabout 4 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Veteran broadcaster Chu Suet-mui (朱雪梅), widely known to listeners as the voice of “Cheung-so” in Commercial Radio’s satirical drama 18/F Block C, announced on October 21 that she is leaving the programme and formally retiring after more than 55 years with the station . The episode aired that day wrote her character out by saying Cheung-so was returning to her hometown to enjoy life with a wealthy female cousin . The long-running radio drama first aired in 1968 and has become a shared lunchtime memory for generations of Hong Kong listeners . Off air, Chu once said she had never worked in any other profession and had devoted her life to broadcasting .
Key Points
- Commercial Radio’s 18/F Block C has been on air since 1968, running for more than half a century as a satirical radio drama familiar to several generations in Hong Kong .
- In the October 21 episode, Cheung-so’s departure was explained in-story as a return to her hometown to accompany a wealthy cousin and “enjoy the good life” .
- Chu Suet-mui joined 18/F Block C in the mid-1980s and voiced Cheung-so, a dishwashing worker in Wan Chai’s fictional Chow Kee Cafe, for decades .
- SingTao said Chu had worked with Commercial Radio for more than 55 years, having entered the industry before the station formally began broadcasting during Governor Grantham’s era .
- Although her character was portrayed as illiterate, Chu was also known for Chinese ink painting and was invited by the Hong Kong Housing Society to design Lunar New Year red packet envelopes for the Year of the Pig and Year of the Ox .
Why It Matters
Chu’s retirement marks the departure of another veteran voice from one of Hong Kong’s longest-running and most recognisable radio institutions, underscoring how much of the city’s shared media memory is tied to performers whose work was heard rather than seen . Her exit also draws attention to the cultural weight of 18/F Block C, a programme that has accompanied everyday lunch hours while chronicling social change through satire across decades .