Classic Nick Wed. – New
Tomorrow Changes Sci-Fi TV Star’s Quiet Life
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
New Tomorrow Changes Sci-Fi
TV Star’s Quiet Life
Misako Koba has to be one of
the unlikeliest TV stars you’ll ever meet.
Aside from a school play as a
child, she had done absolutely no acting prior to landing a role in the ITV
sci-fi hit The Tomorrow People in the 1970s.
She filmed three series,
then, despite offers galore, quietly returned to family life in Blackpool and
has kept a low profile since.
But Misako is coming out of
retirement for one-day only at the weekend after being invited to appear at the
annual Brit Sci Fi festival in Leicester along with stars from the Doctor Who
and Blake’s 7.
“I’ve lived here 30 years now
and even my next door neighbour doesn’t know I used to be on television,” she
says.
“I’ve been happily raising my
family for the last three decades, I haven’t even been to any cast reunions,”
she explained.
“But I feel that after all
this time I really should say thank you to the fans of the show.”
Misako emigrated to the UK in
the 70s and met her actor husband, Colin Sherwood, in London.
They moved to Blackpool
shortly afterwards to look after Colin’s mother.
One evening Misako went to
see her husband, who has starred in A Family At War and Coronation Street – and
will be well known to many in Blackpool for his shows at the Norbreck Castle
hotel – in a play at the Oldham Coliseum.
“I met his agent and he told
me Thames Television were looking for an oriental lady to star in a show and
told me to audition,” she said.
“I laughed because I had
never acted before, but he said why not give it a go.
“I went to London, was absolutely
awful, but apparently they thought I was a nice person and said if my husband
could teach me the script of the first couple of shows they’d hire me ... and
they did.”
She appeared in it for three
years but when the show ended, and despite being offered all sorts of roles – a
part in Tenko, a pantomime, pop record, an advert selling Japanese cars – she
decided to bow out of show business and raise a family instead.
Now a mum of four, and still
living happily with Colin, she admits she feels like “the luckiest person
around”.
“There are thousands of
actors who are so good and who really want to make it but never get an
opportunity,” she said. “Then there’s someone like me who wasn’t even looking
... I feel so privileged and fortunate. It’s funny because every so often
someone will recognise me and say hello, and I am always so surprised because
the programme feels like such a long time ago.”
Misako heads to Leicester at
the weekend for the Sci Fi convention to make a rare public appearance.
“I got this invitation out of
the blue and decided ‘why not?’” she added. “It will be nice to see the cast
and the fans because I’ve not been in touch with anyone for so long – my family
always came first.”
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Misako she played “Hsui Tai” on the original 1970’s version of The Tomorrow People (TV Series). Here is a list of the episodes she appeared in:
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Misako she played “Hsui Tai” on the original 1970’s version of The Tomorrow People (TV Series). Here is a list of the episodes she appeared in:
- The Lost Gods: Flight of
Fancy (1978) ... Hsui Tai
- The Lost Gods: Life Before
Death (1978) ... Hsui Tai
- Hitler's Last Secret: Men
Like Rats (1978) ... Hsui Tai
- Hitler's Last Secret: Seeds
of Destruction (1978) ... Hsui Tai
- The Thargon Menace:
Unexpected Guests (1978) ... Hsui Tai
- The Thargon Menace: Playing
with Fire (1978) ... Hsui Tai
- Castle of Fear: Ghosts and
Monsters (1978) ... Hsui Tai
- Castle of Fear: Fighting
Spirit (1978) ... Hsui Tai
- Achilles Heel: A Room at
the Inn (1978) ... Hsui Tai
- Achilles Heel: Everything
to Lose (1978) ... Hsui Tai
- The Living Skins: A
Harmless Fashion (1978) ... Hsui Tai
- The Living Skins: Cold War
(1978) ... Hsui Tai
- War of the Empires: Close
Encounter (1979) ... Hsui Tai
- War of the Empires:
Contact! (1979) ... Hsui Tai
- War of the Empires: Standing
Alone (1979) ... Hsui Tai
- War of the Empires: All in
the Mind (1979) ... Hsui Tai
I always wondered what happened to her. I'm glad to see she's living a happy life.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel, I always wondered myself. Bit of trivia; did you know that Hsui Tai was actually her last name? I didn't know either until I heard one of the Big Finish Audio Dramas where they said her name was Maureen Hsui Tai. Who knew. That's also when we found out that John's last name was Dixon.
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