Her most successful character is Tante Lien, which she introduced through her popular television programme The Late Late Lien Show. She had to push hard to get the concept produced as the TV production companies and broadcasters initially did not believe there was a market for this. Eventually three seasons were aired in 1979, 1980, 1981 and finally in 1988. The show became the only platform ever for Indo culture on national television.
Each episode shows funny, old Tante Lien hosting a cosy gathering (Koempoelan) at her home in which she and her guests snack on Indo food and reminisce about life back in the good old days (tempo doeloe) of the Dutch East Indies. Her guests are usually famous Indo and Totok (full blooded Dutch settlers of the colonial Dutch East Indies) artists that perform solo or together with Tante Lien or each other. Artists that have appeared in the show include the Blue Diamonds, Sandra Reemer and Willem Nijholt.
Within the Indo community itself the show was viewed by some to be rather controversial, mainly due to the fact the Tante Lien character speaks Dutch with a strong Indo accent. Certain factions in the Indo community claimed this as the reason they could not identify with the show and considered it not representative of well educated and assimilated Indos. In one episode the show makes fun of this criticism by having a posh speaking Indo woman party crash Tante Liens gathering.
Read more about this topic: Wieteke Van Dort