The Nanny Fun Facts You Haven't Heard Before
The fashion, the catchy theme song, the guest stars (so many guest stars)—The Nanny was indeed one of a kind. For six seasons, Fran Drescher’s antics kept viewers all over the world engaged. The flashy girl from Flushing was not only a hometown favorite but was also beloved by audiences in nearly 100 countries (we’re not exaggerating). Although this popular show was front and center for most of the 90s, there are still many interesting behind-the-scenes facts you may not already know about or even realize. From the pilot having a different theme song (imagine?) to this actor not really having a British accent in real life (can you guess who?), here are The Nanny fun facts you haven’t heard before.
Fran Drescher created the show with her then-husband
Fran Drescher not only starred in The Nanny, but she came up with the idea for it, too. The popular series was inspired by Drescher’s experience growing up in Queens.
This famous actress played Maxwell’s stepmother
From Jason Alexander and Ray Charles to Elizabeth Taylor and Celine Dion, and everyone in between, The Nanny had a long list of guest stars appear on the show throughout the years. One of the most memorable was Joan Collins, who took on the role of Maxwell Sheffield’s stepmother.
And this 1960s fashion icon played his sister
Even better, the British fashion icon, Twiggy, appeared on the show during a season one episode as Maxwell’s sister, Jocelyn. Drescher and Twiggy had previously starred together in Princesses, an early-90s sitcom.
The pilot had a different theme song
Can you imagine The Nanny having any other theme song than the one it has now? Neither can we. However, for the pilot episode, “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” a song from the 1960s Broadway play Charity, was instead used as the show’s theme song.
The show happened in-part thanks to a chance encounter
In 1991, Drescher serendipitously crossed paths with Jeff Sagansky, CBS Corp’s then-president, while flying to London to meet Twiggy. Drescher, who starred in Princesses at the time, went up to Sagansky and convinced him to take a pitch meeting in LA with her and Jacobson. The only problem? Drescher had no clue what she was going to pitch.
It wasn't shot in New York City
Even though The Nanny is set in New York City, the series was shot in front of a live studio audience in Los Angeles.
Each live audience was pre-screened
Drescher was the victim of a home invasion in the mid-80s and, because of this, asked for all live audience members to be pre-screened before coming into the studio.
It actually didn’t do so well in its first year
Although The Nanny grew to be one of the most popular television series of its time, it didn’t do so well in the beginning. In fact, it was almost canceled during its first season.
It's aired all over the world
The series was not only wildly successful in the United States but also was a global hit—it was shown in over 90 countries and has been dubbed in over 30 languages.
One actor’s accent was fake
Daniel Davis, who played Niles, has such a good British accent that we almost can’t believe that he’s actually from Arkansas.
Chester was actually Drescher’s pet
Remember CC’s cheeky dog, Chester? In real life, the Pomeranian belonged to Drescher.
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