Last week, Shane Pow said goodbye to his The Heartland Hero character, Zhong Yiyuan, a cute but loveable ex-convict, after 31 episodes.

Shane was originally scheduled to play Yiyuan for the length of the entire 130-episode drama. However, his contract with Mediacorp was terminated after it was reported that he had been booked for his second drink driving charge in April this year.

His involvement in The Heartland Hero was also prematurely terminated.

As with most longform dramas, future episodes are shot concurrently as the series airs. Therefore, even though Shane had already filmed 31 episodes as Zhong Yiyuan, the decision was made to have fellow actor James Seah replace Shane for the remainder of the show.

James’ first episode as Yiyuan aired today (Oct 19) on Ch 8.

Even before the episode aired, his fellow The Heartland Hero co-stars, Paige Chua and Elvin Ng, took to Instagram to show their support for James. Paige and Elvin are among the actors who have the most scenes with Yiyuan.

Paige plays Bao Qingtian, who is described as part of a “quarrelsome but loveable” couple with Yiyuan, while Elvin plays Mao Ge, an ex-convict who encourages Yiyuan to turn over a new leaf.

Different but same same... It's going to be fun anyway…” Paige wrote in her caption.

Acknowledging Shane’s departure, Paige continued: Yes, the transition hasn't been easy for us all. Yes, the team lost a great partner but we are also blessed to have [James] a hardworking and humble fellow on board [The Heartland Hero]”.

A big thank you to [Shane] for all that you've contributed. Now, James will carry the torch and keep [Zhong Yiyuan] going… Paige wrote.

When you get two actors doing the same role, I guess you probably get the best of both worlds! It's also probably one of the highlights for the show as its unprecedented in local dramas (in recent times) for a role to change hands halfway through the show,” wrote Elvin.

“A first-time experience for everyone on set, to be slightly jittery and confused at first, and to learn, adapt, change, and then to just go with the flow. And who's to say that's not what acting, and life really, is about. It takes bravery, effort and grace for all of us involved to be able to pull off something like this and for the show to go on, so I'm really looking forward to this act, this change of hands. Both of them are called [Ah Yuan], and both are my [brothers]”, he added.

Tonight’s the night where [Ah Yuan] undergoes a facelift. [Zhong Yiyuan] will definitely be a memorable character in my career. A character that has 2 different actors telling his story, one starting the chapter and another ending it,” he wrote.

He went on to thank the cast and crew for all their patience and encouragement”, writing: Yes its gonna be weird at first but you’ll get used to seeing my face in a while”.

To find out more about the cast's thoughts on James as Zhong Yiyuan, watch this #JustSwipeLah video: Click here to watch The Heartland Hero on meWATCH. The drama also airs week days at 7:30pm on Ch 8. ​​​​​​​

Photos: Shane Pow/Instagram, James Seah/Instagran, Elvin Ng/Instagram, Paige Chua/Instagram