New Housewives Neighbor Was Almost New Hubby

Photo: Photo: RON TOM/ABC(2)

Soap actor and new Desperate Housewives star Tuc Watkins, who plays “Dolce”-wearin’ Bob, one half of the gay couple who’s moved onto Wisteria Lane, says he originally auditioned for the role of the newest Desperate Housewives husband.

“I initially met (DH creator) Marc Cherry for the role of Dana Delany’s husband that ended up going to my friend Nathan Fillion, who I’ve known since the mid-90s from One Life to Live,” Watkins says. “And when I found out that Nathan got the part, I was very happy for my friend and wanted to put a knife in his neck all at the same time.”

Things turned out okay for the actor, of course, as Bob and his partner Lee (Kevin Rahm) shook things up last week with a rather disastrous meeting with Susan, and will make even more enemies in the ‘hood this week (Sunday, 9 p.m. ET, ABC) when their noisy lawn fountain sets off a little war amongst their fellow ‘burb dwellers. It also helps turn up the heat under Katherine (Delany), who’s, well, desperate, to keep her secret, the one that revolves around her daughter, Dylan.

“We get really woven into the storyline of the street pretty quickly,” Watkins says. “Dana Delany’s character is really the catalyst who tries to make us get rid of the fountain that we put in our front yard. So when she comes over and says, ‘Okay, you gotta get rid of the fountain,’ we say, ‘Well, you know what, we think we’re gonna keep the fountain and if we keep the fountain we promise not to tell everyone what your secret is.’ And so we are fairly well armed.”

Tell us: Do you think you have figured out Katherine’s secret yet? –Kimberly Potts

Photo: RON TOM/ABC(2)