Charles Shaughnessy Reveals His Kissing Scene With Fran Drescher on The Nanny That Made His Kids Sad
“[My daughter] was watching the show that night and she said, ‘Daddy, don’t kiss that girl,'” the actor recalls
It’s been 22 years since Charles Shaughnessy said goodbye to his role as Maxwell Sheffield opposite Fran Drescher on The Nanny, but the London-born actor still relishes his daughter’s reaction to his romantic scenes on the sitcom.
Shaughnessy has two daughters with his wife of 38 years, Susan Fallender — Jenny, 31, and Maddy, 26 — and when they were younger, they didn’t like the show.
“I came home one day and Maddy was so sad,” Shaughnessy, 66, tells PEOPLE this week. “She watched the show that night and said, ‘Daddy, don’t kiss her.’ She wasn’t too keen on the chemistry between Fran and Maxwell.”
As for a Nanny reunion, Shaughnessy said it’s a possibility.
“It would be fun. But it’s also difficult because people have seen The Nanny, it’s 30 years old, so we’re all different. I’m a lot older. She’s a lot older. The kids are a lot older. You watch it and you want to recreate it, but it’s impossible,” he said. “The train has left the station. We’ve come a long way. You can’t really recreate that magic. You can create something else using some elements, but it’s not the same.”
He continued: “I have reservations about doing a remake in general, but if someone comes up with it and invites me back to Maxwell Sheffield, I’d be happy.”
Looking back, Shaughnessy says some of his fondest memories involve surprise appearances.
“My favorite thing about the show is the guest stars,” he says. “We started with Carol Channing in episode 2, and then we had all sorts of Broadway [stars], Marvin Hamlisch and Burt Bacharach. Then Elton John. We had Ray Charles playing Aunt Yetta’s boyfriend. Elizabeth Taylor!”
Shaughnessy continued: “I mean, the guest stars were great. Donald O’Connor, getting to tap dance with Donald O’Connor. That was the most fun. I think if someone asked me what I learned from The Nanny more than anything else, it would be that.
It was getting to really joke around with Donald O’Connor. Imagine that. And then you had some great episodes. The post-shave episode was the biggest laugh I’ve ever seen on a set. We actually had to stop the show to let the audience calm down.”
Shaughnessy made his American television debut as Alistair Durban on General Hospital, which he credits with launching his career. “That was my first TV job,” he said. “I came here in 1983 and found myself on an American soap opera, which was completely different from my background. It was like a creature I didn’t understand or recognize, but I had a great time.”
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Now he’s back on daytime television as Shane Donovan on the Peacock’s Days spinoff Beyond Salem and the villainous Victor Cassadine on General Hospital, where he says he feels right at home.
“I like crazy stories,” he says. “I always find them interesting.”
