1. David Nicholas Yip is a British actor and playwright.
21 Facts About David Yip
1. 2.
David Yip gained prominence through his role in the BBC series The Chinese Detective as the first Chinese lead on British television.
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David Yip's films include A View to a Kill, Ping Pong, and Break.
4.
David Yip was born in Liverpool to a Chinese father, a seaman from Canton, and an English mother from Liverpool.
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David Yip was one of eight children and had a working class upbringing.
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David Yip participated in local youth productions while working at the Everyman, including one under the direction of Barry Kyle when he was visiting the Liverpool Playhouse.
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David Yip got into East 15 Acting School and went on to complete his training in 1973.
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In 1979, David Yip played Frank Chen in the science fiction series Quatermass, on ITV, and had a small part in the Doctor Who story "Destiny of the Daleks".
9.
From 1981 to 1982, David Yip starred as the titular detective John Ho in the BBC police procedural The Chinese Detective, making him the first East Asian lead on British television.
10.
David Yip played Michael Choi in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside from 1989 to 1990.
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David Yip starred in the 1993 BBC sitcom Every Silver Lining and appeared in the television adaptation of Wilde Justice.
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David Yip played Assad in the two-parter Arabian Nights, Merv in the film My Kingdom, and Dr Pang in the CBBC series Oscar Charlie.
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David Yip starred alongside Chipo Chung and Gemma Chan in a production of Turandot.
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David Yip wrote a play entitled Gold Mountain, based on his father's life.
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Also in 2010, David Yip played Ding-Xiang in the CBBC series Spirit Warriors.
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In 2013, David Yip joined the cast of feature film All That Remains which was released on 5 May 2016.
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David Yip reunited with Gemma Chan from Turandot in the play Yellow Face at the Park Theatre and then National Theatre.
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From 2017 to 2018, David Yip returned to the National Theatre for The Great Wave, led the play Eastern Star at the Tara Theatre, and played Hong Mankyo in the Sky Atlantic psychological thriller Fortitude.
19.
David Yip had a voice role on the ABC Kids animated series Luo Bao Bei.
20.
David Yip is a practising Nichiren Buddhist and member of the Soka Gakkai International.
21.
David Yip only adopted his Chinese name, coined by friends, as an adult whilst working on a movie in Hong Kong.