- Debbe Dunning says she began “crying like a baby” after Tim Allen suggested that Pamela Anderson return to Home Improvement.
- The actress recalls that she “excused” herself after Allen pitched that she and Anderson could “share the role” of Tool Time girl.
- Dunning’s discomfort ultimately inspired a season 6 episode of the show, which guest-starred Anderson.
Debbe Dunning replaced Pamela Anderson on Home Improvement — which made for a somewhat awkward atmosphere when the Baywatch star made a guest appearance on the show several years after her original exit.
The actress behind Tool Time girl Heidi Keppert recalls crossing paths with Anderson during a conversation with Entertainment Weekly while discussing her upcoming guest appearance on Shifting Gears, the ABC sitcom featuring her former costar Tim Allen.
Dunning says that one day on the set of Home Improvement‘s show-within-a-show, she overheard Allen discussing his recent reunion with Anderson, who played original Tool Time girl Lisa before exiting Home Improvement after its second season, at a fight in Las Vegas.
“I go, ‘What are you guys talking about?’ And Tim was like, ‘Yeah, she really misses the show,'” the actress remembers. “And he goes, ‘Well, I was telling her maybe we could sprinkle her in once in a while and you guys could both kind of share the role.'”
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Dunning was not thrilled by Allen’s suggestion. “I just remember my head slowly turning towards him and going, ‘It’s your show. I guess that’s what you want,'” she says, recreating her trembling voice. “And my entire neck got blotchy red splotches, and I was like, ‘I need to be excused for a moment.'”
She adds, “I had just had a baby, so let’s just give me a little bit of grace. I was a little bit emotional.”
Dunning says that she was visibly apprehensive in her dressing room, which prompted reassurance from the show’s stage manager.
“She’s like, ‘What happened?’ And I told her,” Dunning remembers. “And she goes, ‘Well, that’s not happening. You’re not going to share. But we need to get through this scene.’ I go, ‘Okay, I’ll try.’ And then I started crying like a baby, and then we had to go through makeup again.”
The actress composed herself enough to film the Tool Time intro segment, then left the set, and some of the crew found out about her discomfort from the situation.
“It’s ridiculous. I was just being emotional,” Dunning reflects. “I should have been like, ‘Sure, I would have no problem with that,’ but I would.”
Dunning then received a call from one of the show’s producers, who reassured her — but asked if the show could echo this uncomfortable behind-the-scenes dynamic in a future episode.
“He said, ‘Listen, Tim was probably just throwing ideas out there,'” she recalls. “‘We’re not bringing her back as a team. This is your role. Would you be opposed to letting us write about this situation just now?’ And I go, ‘It’s not my show. It’s your show. Do whatever you want to do. I just don’t want to feel threatened with my job. I love my job so much, and I just had a kid and I’m supporting a house and a child.'”
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That future episode, “The Kiss & the Kiss-Off,” ultimately aired during season 6 in May 1997 — and featured Anderson guest-starring as Lisa, which puts Heidi on edge.
“Heidi quits and decides, ‘I’m not doing this. I’m not sharing my role,'” Dunning remembers. “So Tim has to come and ask her to come back.”
Dunning says that Anderson was completely professional during the episode’s production. “She came on, she had her husband, she had the kids. She was fine,” the actress says. “We didn’t have a ton of time together. We worked together. But then her kids were little, so she went to her dressing room and she was being a mom. So at the end of the show, it was great.”
The actress remains friends with Allen and their costar Richard Karn, and remains immensely grateful for their time on Home Improvement together.
“I’ve had a really, really blessed life since Home Improvement,” she says.
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Dunning can be seen in the season 2 premiere of Shifting Gears on ABC alongside Allen, Karn, and their Home Improvement costar Patricia Richardson on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Episodes also are available to stream the following day on Hulu.
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