THE Singapore Grip’s Elizabeth Tan has revealed all about Vera Chiang’s harrowing escape plot after abuse, torture and sick experiments.
The new ITV period drama begins next Sunday and follows a British family living in Singapore during World War II and the Japanese invasion.
Former Coronation Street star Elizabeth plays Vera, a mysterious Chinese refugee who she describes as a “true survivor”.
During a Q&A session with HOAR Online and other media, Elizabeth revealed more about what Vera had been through before arriving in Singapore.
She said: “I really loved Vera Chiang. She is obviously of extreme hardship, she is from an area that is very war torn.
“An area where they were capturing people and performing experiments on them. She has lost both of her parents at a young age.
“She has traveled the world and been a survivor on her own. I think she is a fascinating character and I love that we have this character in a western world.
“She speaks six languages, does martial arts and is a force to be reckoned with. That’s an attitude of a true survivor.”
Elizabeth also revealed how the series and Vera’s story will shed light on a part of history and the war that not a lot of people seem to know about.
She told ITV: “She’s from a place called Harbin which the Japanese
occupied and did biological testing.
“Not a lot of people know about the history of Harbin. It was one of the Top 10 Japanese atrocities during the Second World War.
“The centre was called Unit 731. There was biological testing on prisoners under no anaesthesia. Thousands of people were tortured and killed and experimented on.
“Imagine how much of a survivor Vera must have been to be able to escape
that environment? I think people who know their history will love the
fact that Vera is from Harbin.”
The Singapore Grip starts on Sunday, September 13 at 9pm on ITV.
