Claire Yiu's story of becoming a mother

Credit ; Matchbox @ http://www.illusive-serenity.co.cc

Source: 3weekly

Before Claire Yiu got pregnant she chatted with Roger Kwok and Raymond Cho about the happiness of being a parent. This encouraged her and she decided to have children. Claire and her husband Thomas Lam had an agreement in preparation for their child and they needed to have 3 elements "Ready". That both of them were happy, healthy and had enough funds to support the child. In the end she successfully became pregnant with her first child.

Claire experienced 10 months of pregancy, feeling the pain and the happiness. She could feel her baby kicking her and her heartbeat. From the moment she gave birth she couldn't hold back the emotional tears of happiness.

In 2006, Claire and Thomas got married after dating for 7 years. The couple have always wanted to have children. While filming "The Threshold of a Persona" Roger Kwok and Raymond Cho discussed the joy of being a parent. She said "When we weren't filming they would share parenting tips with each other. Although I wasn't a parent at the time I would sit beside them to listen. They would rush me to have children because they knew I wanted to to become a mother. They said when I have a baby I will experience the joy of being a parent which gave me the urge to get pregnant".

After 2 months the shooting for the series was complete. Claire was excited as she successfully got pregnant. She immediately shared the good news with her 2 good colleagues". During 10 months of pregnancy Claire experienced body changes daily. She even took photos of herself for collective memories. The warmest moment for Claire was feeling her baby's first kick and that feeling was hard to describe."

When I was giving birth my husband Thomas accompanied me in the delivery room. He also took a camcorder to film the moment of history. I remember after giving birth my mind was totally blank. When I saw our baby I didn't know how to react. I only stared at her until the moment she started to cry and her hands were moving. Only then did I start to wake up and gradually cry tears of joy. I finally had my own daughter and became someone's mother".

Claire was raised in a well off family and is the only child. Her father is Yiu Yeung Lung a Hong Kong Police Commandant. Her mother is a sports coach. When Claire was 7 years old her parents divorced. "Perhaps because my mom was a sports coach she taught me like I was one of her students. Since I was a child she taught me to be brave. Other girls would be learning the piano and drawing, whereas I would be playing basketball, swimming and playing sports. She wanted me to become independent so that I could take care of myself. In 1998 she encouraged me to join Miss Asia Pageant. She said I could learn many things and it could help me become independent"."

I remember my mom drove me to the first interview but I didn't want to audition. Then my mom said I was a coward. I told her I would go for the first interview but to not force me to go to the second one. I just wanted her to know I wasn't a coward. Afterwards, aTV contacted me to go to the second interview but I didn't go. I was considering to return to America to study. But after a few days aTV called me again and asked me why I didn't turn up. They insisted there wouldn't be any reporters around because I was afraid they would capture pictures and even give me nicknames. After thinking about it overnight I decided to attend the interview and treat it as as a learning process. In the end I was placed and awarded 2nd runner up.

While being in aTV Claire had filmed 2 TV series. (海瑞鬥嚴嵩) and (廣東十虎). She mainly hosted travel shows and started to enjoy being a entertainer. But due to average viewer ratings she felt disappointed. "I was in aTV for 2 years. Actually I felt I wasted a lot of efforts. It seemed like not many people watched what we filmed". After her contract with aTV ended she planned to return for her studies in America. But one telephone call gave her the chance to continue her entertainment career. "TVB artistes department called me and asked if I was interested in developing my career. Wah! I was so happy at that moment. It's a big channel afterall that's why I decided to sign with them".

Since signing up with TVB Claire's popularity has increased. Despite not reaching Fa Dan status many series she is associated with have had high viewer ratings.

Claire stated that she really likes children and gets along well with them. While filming "The Threshold of a Persona" she got on really well with Tam Tsang Yat who plays her son "Hei Hei". "The first day we started filming I prepared a bag of sweets. But my son (Tam Tsang Yat) was really smart and well behaved. He approached me and asked [Can I take a photo with you?]. His acting is very good and he could cry easily. Everyone in the crew totally adored him".