ZOE Tay has always been fiercely protective of her two sons, shielding them from the media glare.

The last time the actress showed her older son, Brayden, 3, to the media was three years ago during his first-month party.

Now, fans won't have to wait too long to see how he has grown.

'You'll get to see him within this year,' the Caldecott queen revealed yesterday, in an interview with The New Paper to promote her new comeback drama, La Femme.

Zoe, 40, went on to explain that she has initiated a children's charity project with the Community Chest and SingPost, which will feature celebrity offspring, including her own.

Their cute faces will appear in a special collection of postage stamps under SingPost's personalised MyStamp service. The New Paper understands from CommChest that it plans to launch the stamps on Children's Day on 1Oct.

The stamps will be sold to the public and the proceeds will go to help children with developmental delays, who are enrolled in a therapy programme with the Asian Women's Welfare Association's Early Years Centre.

Details about marketing and promotions are still being worked out, and Zoe said she will tread carefully as she does not want to give the impression that 'we're using our kids and fame to sell (the stamps)'. 'It's more out of goodwill,' she added.

Inspiration struck last year, when Zoe, who was then pregnant with her second son, Ashton, kept going for movie premieres and meeting other celebrity children.

'They've all grown-up and look very cute,' she recalled.

Pondering over how she can feature their faces and do some charity work at the same time, she came up with the idea of stamps and immediately got to work.

Her managers helped to pave the way, while Zoe herself convinced photographers Wee Khim and Mark Law to do the photoshoot for free.

It was also Zoe who personally called all the other celebrity parents, but not everyone was keen to join in the project.

'Some parents were not comfortable (with the idea), but it's okay, it's their kids and I respect their decision.'

Even for those who said yes, Zoe was not willing to give too many names away, so as to protect the kids.

Some were photographed together with their parents, and others, alone.

But it's 'very obvious' who some of the children belong to because they resemble their parents so much, she added. She wouldn't reveal if her good friends Pan Lingling and Chen Liping will show off their sons.

But she did let on that Vivian Lai's 2 1/2-year-old daughter is in the project. So is the 19-month-old son of James Lye and Diana Ser.

Zoe said she had wanted to finish the project before giving birth last year, but her second son couldn't wait and popped out on 23 Sep - one day after her shoot.

She returned to work in January to shoot the drama La Femme, which debuts on Channel 8 at 9pm on 2Jun.

She plays a dutiful wife and mother of two, who gives herself a makeover after her husband cheats on her.

The serial reunites Zoe with her old-time acting partner, Desmond Sim, who left MediaCorp 12 years ago.

Desmond plays an old flame who runs into Zoe's character after her divorce and woos her.

Fans may remember the fiery love-hate chemistry between them in the 1991 drama, Pretty Faces, and a much-talked-about rape scene.

This time though, Desmond said his character is so meek and mild that 'he's ecstatic just to be near (Zoe)'.

But in real life, Desmond's playful side showed when he kept toying with a strand of Zoe's hair that was out of place during our interview.

He also joked that he missed kissing Zoe, and that he was her 'kissing coach' back in the old days.

A slightly embarrassed Zoe had to jump in and add: 'No need for that, I've grown up already.'

Turning serious, Desmond said his heart ached for his old partner when he saw how she struggled to cope with filming in the day, rehearsing for the recent Thye Hua Kwan Charity Show at night, and then, returning home to nurse her sick son Brayden.

Zoe said Brayden had a fever and a persistent cough that lasted for weeks, and she had to be careful not to let him infect his younger brother.

Added Desmond: 'Zoe herself was sick with a running nose and she didn't dare to take medical leave.

'I really admire her - she's the ultimate professional.'