DOES the name Florence Tan ring a bell?

To most local television viewers, the 1997 Star Search winner and MediaCorp artiste has all but fallen off the radar.

Many assumed she was content being a tai-tai and mum after she left the station and quietly tied the knot with her Taiwanese businessman boyfriend in 2006.

But unknown to many, the 34-year-old dimpled, doe-eyed actress is enjoying a career revival of sorts in China, where she has inked a three-year artiste management contract with production company Lafeng Entertainment.

Her comeback role as an evil, scheming concubine - in the intriguing period drama Mystery In The Palace - is earning rave reviews from Chinese critics.

The popular 37-episode series, which concluded its run on Hunan Television last night, topped China's nationwide viewership ratings in the millions.

In a phone interview with The New Paper from Dongguan, Guangdong, where she has been based with her husband and three-year-old twin daughters since last year, Tan was spirited as she talked about rejoining the entertainment industry.

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