Pik-Sen Lim was born to Chinese parents in Penang, Malaysia. She came to London at the age of sixteen to learn drama. Her big break came in 1964 when she appeared in the long-running hospital drama series Emergency-Ward 10 (1957) where she was cast as the first Chinese nurse on British television. One of the series writers was Don Houghton, who also originated Take the High Road (1980), who became her husband until his death in 1991. Their daughter, Sara Houghton, is also an actress and they appeared on stage together in 2005 as mother and daughter in the play 'Three Thousand Troubled Threads.' Pik-Sen's best known television role is probably as the vehement Chinese communist in the comedy series Mind Your Language (1977). She also appeared in Doctor Who (1963) in an episode written by her husband and in the 2000s says she is being recognized all over again for her role in the TV sketch show Little Britain (2003)