AFTER four months, Fiona Xie is still nowhere to be found.

The 27-year-old withdrew from the Chinese TV drama Together just days before filming was due to start, and her reason for doing so remains unknown.

Fiona’s manager had told The New Paper at the time that she had gone overseas to attend to personal matters and would be back a month later.

It is unusual for an artiste to drop out of a drama at the last minute, and there has been speculation among industry insiders that it was career suicide for Fiona.

Eelyn Kok subsequently took over her role in the drama.

Fiona was one of the hosts for the local variety show Singapore Flavours and had gone to Japan in August to film it.

But she did not make any public appearances in Singapore or promote the show when it debuted on Channel U last month.

Four months later, Fiona has yet to appear in public or speak to the media to explain her “disappearance”.

On leave

The New Paper called her several times this week, but her handphone was switched off.

According to her manager, Fiona is not in Singapore, but she is still a MediaCorp artiste.

She is supposedly on leave, but her manager claims she’s not sure when she will return.

Her manager also declined to reveal details of Fiona’s contract, such as when it ends or whether she’s on no-pay leave.

The New Paper understands that Fiona will host a new travelogue Lodge With Me next month, but she’s not required to be in Singapore to film the programme.

Fiona may also host another travelogue though details have not been finalised.

When the actress rejected the role in Together, industry insiders had speculated that she didn’t want to play the role of a materialistic girl.

Ironically, insiders believed it would’ve revitalised her career.

There were also rumours that Fiona had decided to retire to be with her boyfriend, who’s said to be one of the richest men in Hong Kong.

This article was first published in The New Paper.