Desperate Housewives star ‘was definitely warned’ to stay out of feud between cast

Drea de Matteo has revealed that she was ‘definitely warned’ about the tension on the set of Desperate Housewives when she guest-starred in the sixth season.

Today marks the 20-year anniversary of the hit drama, which ran for eight seasons between 2004 and 2012, and starred Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman in the main roles.

The series was created by Marc Cherry and focused on a group of tight-knit Fairview locals as they were left reeling over the suicide of their neighbor, Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), despite living a seemingly perfect life.

Over the years, the iconic program was plagued by huge feud rumors and constant reports of tension between the four lead stars on set, with speculation over whether Teri, aka Susan Meyer, was at the center of the ‘drama’.

Although the Superman actress insisted that she respected everyone on the crew, Drea – who moved onto Wisteria Lane as the legendary Angie Bolen for one year – alluded to the ‘tension’ on set in a candid chat with .

‘I was far removed from all those girls, but when I got there, I think people clocked me immediately that I was a no bulls**t kind of character,’ the 52-year-old, who has since earned a fortune on OnlyFans, told us.

‘I was definitely warned. I was warned just to stay out of it. There was tension, of course, it’s an all-female set.

‘But let me tell you something about all-male sets. Holy s**t, when I tell you tension, I don’t know who’s more crazy – a bunch of dudes or a bunch of chicks?

‘I actually think there was more tension on the Sons of Anarchy set than there was on the Desperate Housewives set, to be honest with you. There was no tension on Sopranos that I can recall.’

Despite confirming claims of tension, Drea – who also starred in The Sopranos and Joey – remained coy over who was actually at the root of the drama on Desperate Housewives.

She made her debut as gritty Angie at the beginning of season six in September 2009, alongside husband Nick (Jeffrey Nordling) and Beau Mirchoff, who played her son, Danny.

Angie was part of that season’s big mystery storyline and it emerged that she was a former eco-terrorist who was on the run after unintentionally killing an innocent man during a bombing years before.

Addressing her character’s storyline, she took a moment to heap praise on John Barrowman, who briefly appeared as her ex, Patrick Logan – the leader of her organization.

‘You know what my favorite part was? John Barrowman. I love that motherf**ker so much. I had so much fun working with him. That was the highlight of my time.’

Angie was only part of the series for one year before she relocated to Atlanta, but – 15 years after her debut aired – Drea still fears that she let Marc down with her efforts.

‘I felt like I let Marc Cherry down,’ she continued. ‘I felt like I wasn’t… I mean, watching Marcia Cross work was one of my favorite things on the planet. I loved that she was unapologetically Botoxed to the nines and she could perform her balls off without ever moving a muscle in her face.

‘I felt like that was genius, pure f**king genius. I thought all of them were. I really was very taken with watching them perform. I really, really enjoyed it. I’m usually on male driven shows, I’m not around all these women, I’m always around these more primal actors.

‘They were very composed at all times, and kept everything contained and under the surface, but there was a fire underneath them that was so intense. I really, really learned a lot watching them.

‘But I also knew that I didn’t fit in there. It wasn’t my style of acting, I wasn’t good at that kind of acting, and I had to just accept that that wasn’t who I was, as an actor.

‘I fit into a different category – not that we can’t move through categories as actors, but I don’t think that I am as skilled, maybe, in some ways. But maybe one of those girls can’t play a down and out drug addict and look as ugly as I can look on film?

‘My ticket was always my vulnerability, that was my highlight, that was the thing I could offer to the world. They had this comedic flare mixed with drama. It’s just a different kind of acting completely. I felt like a fish out of water there.

When asked if she would ever find herself back in Fairview for a possible reboot, Drea enthused: ‘If they asked me? Of course, I would. I would want another chance to not let Marc down.

‘F**k yeah, I would go back and do it! Angie Bolen – none of us knew who we wanted her to be. Because I’m like the hippie in real life, and then my character from the Sopranos was so brassy. They didn’t know if they wanted me to be more me or more her, so they blended the two.

‘I don’t even know if it worked for the vibe of the show.

‘I feel like [fans] hated me on Desperate Housewives!’