She is willing to open up, said the Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) while arranging this interview with Fann Wong.

Wow, that's something new, I thought.

I presumed I could get something more out of her than the usual flat denial about her boyfriend.

You know, the one who's said to be short, fat and ugly and who owns eight cars. They allegedly broke up recently.

But will she really spill the beans?

Isn't it too good to be true?

You bet.

"I really have no boyfriend then, so what do you expect me to say? All these years, I've never talked about my private life and I don't intend to change that," she said over the phone from Taiwan.

"It's not that I'm scared of losing my fans. I'm a public figure and am already very transparent.

"Whatever I can do to protect the people around me, I will. I've to put myself in their shoes. It's not easy having a friend or family member who's a public figure."

Yada, yada.

Of course, the easy way out would be to give bland-as-water quotes.

She was not always this wary.

Then, Fann was a reporter's dream.

You wouldn't go away without getting quotable quotes from her.

Now, what sprouts from her mouth is but a rush of boring standard replies.

Like when asked whether she'd forever be number two, after rival actress Zoe Tay, on Caldecott Hill.

I don't mind. This is not what I say, it's always what others say. I cannot control that, so it's okay with me," she said.

Tell me something I have never heard before.

The Fann today is a far cry from the old days when she had just joined showbusiness.

Surely everyone would remember her infamous little speech at the 1995 Star Awards where exclaimed: "Now that I've won the Best Actress award, what's there for me to bag next year? Perhaps Best Actor - if I am allowed to take on a male role!"

Then there was her unforgettable comment on her relationship with Zoe: "We are not friends, only colleagues."

Her honesty may have offended some, but she was a breath of fresh air.

But Fann, 27, has learned her lesson.

And with her newly acquired guardedness, she has done a good job cramping her style and just blanding, err, blending in.

"You cannot be the same all the time … I won't be able to behave like the little girl that I used to be. I've learned. I've been through and seen a lot of things.

"There's bound to be some changes (in me). It may be a pity that some part of me may have been lost but I guess this is what you call growing up. That's life," she explained.

"During the first two years (in showbiz), I was overwhelmed by all the exciting things and side-tracked a little and was blind to a lot of things."

She was referring to her nasty dual contract ordeal which came to light in late 1996.

She had signed a six-year contract with Taiwanese talent agency PT Models in 1993 before signing with the TCS a year later.

PT Models released her from her obligations but she was suspended by TCS for about six months. She added: "I took a look at myself and examined what I really wanted, who I really was and tried to see the light to things.

"I've learned how not to let the media affect me. I've never come out to explain anything and I think that's not necessary as long as the people around me know the truth."