That was how the British East Asian Artists group came together, before evolving, in 2017, into Beats (“Advocates for British East and South East Asians working in the Screen and Stage Industries”). Sheen, with actor and filmmaker Daniel York Loh, among others, was again a co-founder; and, Beats, like its predecessor, is a non-profit.

London-based Beats aims “to humanise the representation of British East and South East Asians in arts and culture, increase their visibility” and secure equal employment opportunities. And without her existing professional profile, her work in such areas might have been trickier.

Sheen – also a director, playwright, poet, digital artist, and fiction and non-fiction writer – starred in British film Ping Pong, directed by Leong Po-chih, which opened the 1986 Hong Kong Film Festival and was screened at the Venice Film Festival.

The comedy-mystery later topped the bill on pre-seatback-video on-demand Cathay Pacific flights to Hong Kong. “There is serious talk that Ping Pong is going to be repackaged and relaunched, which is great, although 40 years late!” says Sheen.

Picture: Call the Midwife actress Lucy Sheen (centre), who was born in Hong Kong and grew up in the UK, talks about how Southeast and East Asians are still struggling for recognition in British film and TV. Photo: BBC