When John Ritter died suddenly on September 11, 2003, Kaley Cuoco, who plays the sexy older daughter Bridget on “8 Simple Rules,” wanted the show to end.

“I was going to quit and I wanted people to quit with me,” she tells andPOP in an exclusive interview. “I didn’t want to do it myself, but I was ready to go.”

Her fellow cast members did not agree and persuaded her not to quit. But Cuoco’s decision to stay on the show came when she thought about what Ritter would have wanted.

“To me, it was the ‘John Ritter Show’ and that’s all that mattered. Without John being here, it just didn’t seem right,” she says. “Finally there was a moment when it just hit me. John wouldn’t want me to sit on my butt for the rest of my life feeling sorry for myself or sorry for him. As cheesy as it sounds, he would have wanted us to go on.”

Cuoco is thankful that the show continued. Ritter’s character was killed off on the show rather then being recast, leaving the Hennessy family, like the actors, to grieve.

ABC announced this month that 8 Simple Rules has been picked up for another season, something that the cast expected, yet was still relieved when it was made official.

“After this whole year, we really didn’t know what was going to happen,” Cuoco says. “The final phone call that said we’re going to be picked up again was just a miracle. We’ve overcome the impossible and we’re still pushing forward. I know John is smiling and so happy that he gets to watch us on TV.”

After taping the final episode this season, the cast brought out a 7-foot high picture of Ritter during their curtain call.

“The mood was wonderful,” Cuoco explains of the season’s final taping. “We had the audience going crazy and we just raised [the photo] in the air, just screamed out loud, ‘thank you, John.’ Whatever happens with this, this has been a life changing experience for all of us and now it’s continuing and we’re so thankful and grateful.”

David Spade and James Garner, two gifted comedic actors, were brought in mid-season and have signed on for next season.

“James Garner is like a peaceful river through our chaos,” says Cuoco. “He’s just such a loving and amazing grandfather to me because I don’t have a grandfather and he has no grandkids.

“And David Spade finally brought some laughter back to our set. He’s become one of my closest friends and we’ve bonded really well because he’s had some tragedies in his life and he’s been able to help me and the rest of the cast through it. It’s a different show. It will never be the same show that it was last year.”

Check back soon for Part 2 and Part 3 of our Kaley Cuoco interview, where she talks about her new television movie, Crimes of Fashion, gives her own fashion tips, and discusses getting Punk’d.






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