Nicole Eggert quit “Baywatch” after being promised she’d star in a spinoff that never came to be.
The actress explained on Monday’s episode of the “Still Here Hollywood” podcast that while she was starring on the 1980s sitcom “Charles in Charge,” the show’s executive producer, Al Burton, was in contact with “Baywatch” bosses.
At the time, they wanted Eggert to lead a spinoff that was described to her as a “‘Beverly Hills, 90210′-esque’ show at the beach.”
“He said, ‘I want Nicole to be in it.’ And then David Charvet and some more cast,” she told host Steve Kmetko. “And they wanted to bring us on and do a spinoff.”
Nicole Eggert explained on Steve Kmetko’s “Still Here Hollywood” podcast that she left “Baywatch” because she was promised a spinoff that never came to be. Still Here Hollywood Podcast w/ Steve Kmetko
Eggert (seen above on “Baywatch” with Alexandra Paul, David Hasselhoff, Gena Lee Nolin and Jeremy Jackson) said the spinoff was going to be similar to “Beverly Hills, 90210,” but set at the beach. ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
“It would be a ‘high school at the beach training to be lifeguards,’ and it was gonna be its own thing.”
The actress, 54, said that when she joined “Baywatch” at the start of Season 3, the syndicated series “became the No. 1 show in the world.”
However, the success of the series also killed plans for the spinoff.
“They were like, ‘Spinoff? Nothing! This is what’s working, and we want it to stay like this!’” Eggert recalled.
Eggert (seen above in “Baywatch”) said the series “became the No. 1 show in the world” after she joined in Season 3. Courtesy Everett Collection
That led to producers axing the spinoff, but to Eggert’s chagrin (Eggert is pictured above on “Baywatch”). Courtesy Everett Collection
“So after two seasons, I politely bowed out, because it wasn’t really what I signed up for,” she explained.
Eggert, who was only 20 at the time, admitted that she made a hasty decision when she quit the series.
“I had some crazy idea in my head that if I left the show, I would be able to detach myself from the stigma that the show had given all of us as actors, which is now a thing,” Eggert shared.
Eggert (seen above with Charvet) said she “politely bowed out” of “Baywatch” after the spinoff was scrapped. Courtesy Everett Collection
The actress (seen above at an LA event in March) said her decision to quit the show was a “crazy idea.” Getty Images for Cindy Eckert
She added, “But at 20 years old… if I could go back and talk to that 20 year old… wild ideas.”
Eggert — who is currently in recovery from breast cancer treatment — also acknowledged that the canned spinoff “was a great idea” and “would’ve been a great show.”
“And Elizabeth Berkley was attached,” Eggert said about the “Saved by the Bell” actress. “We had a great cast.”
Eggert (pictured above during her cancer battle) said she thinks the canned spinoff “was a great idea.” _nicole_eggert/instagram
“We had a great cast,” she added of the show that never was. _nicole_eggert/instagram
“Baywatch” aired for 11 seasons from 1989 to 2001 and starred David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, Gregory Alan Williams, Alexandra Paul, Jeremy Jackson, Parker Stevenson, Billy Warlock, Erika Eleniak and Yasmine Bleeth.
The show sparked a spinoff, “Baywatch Nights,” that aired for two seasons from 1995 to 1997, followed by a 2017 film.
Fox’s upcoming “Baywatch” reboot, starring Stephen Amell, Shay Mitchell, Noah Beck, Brooks Nader and Livvy Dunne, is currently filming.