KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — Malaysian-born British actress Pik-Sen Lim, best known for her role in the sitcom Mind Your Language, has died on Monday at the age of 80.
Lim gained international recognition and became a familiar face on British and Malaysian television for her role as Chung Su-Lee in Mind Your Language, a popular British comedy that aired in the late 1970s.
Born in Penang in 1944, Lim’s birth name was romanised as Lim Phaik-Seng, but she later changed her given name to Pik-Sen after noticing that her British friends frequently mispronounced “Phaik” as “fake.”
She starred in Doctor Who, playing Chin Lee in The Mind of Evil (1971), and appeared in Coronation Street, Casualty, Holby City and The Bill.
Her film credits include Johnny English Reborn (2011), in which she played the Killer Cleaner.
More recently, she voiced key characters in Dark Souls and appeared in The Nevers (2023) and Vampire Academy (2022).
The British Film Institute described Lim as “the most recognisable Chinese actor on British television throughout the 1970s and 80s.”
She was fondly remembered by fellow actor Daniel Y Loh in a heartfelt tribute on Facebook.
“I acted on stage in two plays with her as well as numerous readings, workshops, audio etc as well,” Loh wrote.
“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.”
Loh recalled their time working together on several productions, including Citizens of Nowhere?, which they performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival the summer before the Covid-19 pandemic.
They also shared the stage in a production of Romeo & Juliet, where he played Mercutio opposite Lim’s Nurse.
“We’ve shared the same agent for the last 25 odd years and she’ll be hugely missed there as well,” he wrote.
