Charles Shaughnessy found TV fame playing widower Maxwell Sheffield, the British Broadway producer who falls for his kids' nasal-voiced nanny, Fran, played by Fran Drescher, on "The Nanny."
After a few seasons of teasing viewers, the unlikely pair wed and welcomed two children of their own.
But in real life, Shaughnessy's two daughters, Jenny, 31, and Maddy, 26, whom he shares with his wife of 38 years, Susan Fallender, didn't like seeing their dad kiss Drescher on TV, he told People.
"I came home one day, and Maddy was very upset," said Shaughnessy, 66. "She had seen the show that night and said, ‘Daddy, don’t kiss the girl.’"
"She wasn’t very keen on all the Fran and Maxwell chemistry," he added.
"The Nanny" aired on CBS for six seasons from 1993 until 1999. Though the beloved sitcom hasn't yet been given the reboot treatment, Shaughnessy said he might be game if the idea presents itself.
"It would be a lot of fun," said the actor.
The only problem, he added, is that he and Drescher, 63, are so much older these days.
"It’s hard because people see 'The Nanny' now, 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 see that and you kind of want to recreate that, but it’s un-recreatable," he explained.
"The train has left the station. We’re down the tracks awhile. You can’t really recreate that magic. You can create something else using some of the elements, but it’s not going to be what it was originally," added the actor, who stars as Victor Cassadine on "General Hospital" and as Shane Donovan on Peacock’s "Days of Our Lives" spinoff, "Beyond Salem."
As for Drescher, she reunited with her "Nanny" co-star Renee Taylor, who played her mom on the sitcom, in July.
Drescher posted a hilarious video on Instagram of her and Taylor, 88, both decked out in leopard-print coats.
"Everyone’s enjoying watching ‘The Nanny’ on HBO Max," Drescher told Taylor in the clip. “Do you realize that there are people watching it now that weren’t even alive when we were shooting it?”
“And do you realize you’re older now than I was when I started playing your mother?” responded Taylor.
"Cut," said a deadpan Drescher, as she stared into the camera.
CORRECTION (Sept. 24, 2021, 8:00 a.m. ET): A previous version of this story stated that Shaughnessy plays Victor Cassadine on “Beyond Salem.” He plays that character on “General Hospital”; his "Beyond Salem" character is Shane Donovan.
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