7th Heaven's Barry Watson Reflects on Near-Kiss Moment with Jessica Biel Despite Sibling Roles

7th Heaven's Barry Watson Recalls Cringey Moment with Jessica Biel When the Camden Siblings Nearly Kissed

Barry Watson, Jessica Biel. Getty Images(2)

Barry Watson shared a funny moment from the pilot episode of 7th Heaven.

At a ‘90s Con panel in Hartford, Connecticut on Sunday, March 17, Watson, 49, talked about a fan asking about the almost-kiss between him and Jessica Biel, who played siblings Matt and Mary Camden in the show’s first episode.

Waston remembered feeling unsure about a scene while filming the show. He shared that the creator Brenda Hampton revealed it was Aaron Spelling, the executive producer, who insisted on including that particular scene. Waston admitted it was the only time he doubted Spelling's creativity, as he believed the scenario was unrealistic.

In the scene, Mary sought kissing advice from her older brother before attempting to kiss him. The moment was interrupted by their father, Eric Camden, who caught them in the act and appeared puzzled by what he saw.

Matt reassured his dad, saying, "This isn't what it looks like." His dad responded, "That's a relief."

On Sunday, Catherine Hicks, who portrayed the family matriarch Annie Camden on the WB series, asked Watson if he and Biel, who is 42 years old, really "made out" during the scene.

Watson quickly replied, "No!" and then joked, "Of course, back then, Jessie probably wouldn’t have minded."

During the panel discussion, Hicks, who is 72 years old, shared that both Biel and Mitchell, who portrayed Lucy Camden, had a crush on Watson while they were filming the show, which aired from 1996 to 2006.

7th Heaven's Barry Watson Recalls Cringey Moment with Jessica Biel When the Camden Siblings Nearly Kissed

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“They were, like, so in love with him,” she said.

“We were all in love with Barry,” David Gallagher, who played Simon Camden, chimed in.

Watson then shared that his fellow actors were not very discreet about their crush on him. He remembered, "Whenever I came out of my trailer, they were always hanging around, trying to play it cool."

Mitchell, who is 43 years old, claimed that her trailer was located "right next" to Watson's. In response, Watson retorted that she and Biel would be "on the stairs" waiting outside for him.

Although Biel was not at the panel, she had talked about her crush on Watson in a June 2021 episode of Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast.

"We both had crushes on Barry, who played our older brother in the show. But we were only 14 years old and he was dating real-life women, so there was no chance for us. We never dated anybody," Beverley shared.

In a 2016 blog post on Growing Up Hollywood, Mitchell confessed to having a crush on Barry during their time on the show.

“I am pretty sure every teenage girl had a crush on Barry, I mean look at him. Jess and I did for a minute. I mean it really isn’t fair that he had better hair,” she wrote at the time.

Editor's P/S:

The '90s Con panel discussion offers a humorous glimpse into the behind-the-scenes dynamics of the beloved show "7th Heaven." Barry Watson's candid recollections about the almost-kiss scene with Jessica Biel highlight the creative process and the influence of executive producers on plot decisions. The