IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY
CNA presenter Lance Alexander and son Lance Corporal (LCP) Dylan talk about family, NS, and what it means to be in showbiz.// Story by Thrina Tham
// Photos by Chua Soon Lye
Contrary to what his friends thought, the broadcast veteran did not see it coming when he found out that his oldest son, Dylan, had been accepted into the Music and Drama Company (MDC).
"I know my son – he can't sing and he can't dance," said Mr Alexander in banter. The 56-year-old co-hosts CNA938's Singapore Today and presents Channel News Asia's (CNA's) Coffee with the Boss programme.
LCP Alexander, who has been serving in MDC since enlisting in in 2018, admitted that the dance test during the auditions was a "killer".
He must have passed his audition through a way with words instead: the 20-year-old is MDC's only Full-time National Serviceman emcee (who does the occasional back-up dancing).
"I couldn't believe it – that we would end up in similar tracks," continued Mr Alexander. The father of two served his National Service in the Ministry of Defence's then-Public Affairs Department Programmes Unit, where he was responsible for outreach to schools.
"I was at the Central Manpower Base and the lady there noticed I was talking at the back. So she said: ‘You like to talk a lot ah? I'm going to put you to Public Affairs where you can talk and talk.' That's how I ended up there."
Who would have guessed that he would go on to make a career out of it and his eldest son would follow in his footsteps nearly 30 years later? Guess showbiz really does run in the family.
Watch to find out more about the father-son duo.
