“Frasier” Star David Hyde Pierce Says Studio Audience ‘Lost Their Minds’ When He and Jane Leeves Kissed for the First Time

0David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves on ‘Fraiser.’Credit: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via GettyNEED TO KNOWFrasier stars David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves recently recalled the wild studio audience reaction when their characters, Daphne Moon and Niles Crane, finally kissed

After seven seasons, Leeves says viewers were “begging” for the long-awaited romance to become a reality

The on-screen couple also praised the show’s timing in bringing their story and the series to a close

Jane Leeves’ Daphne Moon and David Hyde Pierce’s Niles Crane became one of Frasier’s most enduring will-they-won’t-they pairings.

Niles, the more reserved younger Crane brother, fell for Daphne, the Manchester-born physiotherapist caring for his father Martin, but she remained unaware of just how strong his feelings were. Their slow-burning romance became a major thread across the sitcom’s seven seasons, making the moment they finally kissed all the more memorable.

“One thing that the writers did very smartly: they got us together before people were tired of the suspense,” Pierce, 67, told The Guardian in a recent interview. “I remember very well — speaking of moments that stick with me — when we kissed in front of the live audience. They lost their minds.”

By then, Niles and Daphne had spent years circling around the possibility of something more, with the show repeatedly teasing the relationship while letting their friendship develop.

“Seven years is a long time and I think the audience was sort of begging to please bring this to a conclusion,” Leeves, 65, told the outlet, with Pierce also agreeing that keeping Niles and Daphne apart indefinitely would have ultimately weakened the plot.

“I think we all felt we had played that ‘these two people didn’t think they deserved each other and didn’t believe that they could ever end up with each other’ and there comes a point where you just stop believing that,” Pierce admitted.

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Luckily, the payoff worked because the writers allowed the relationship to unfold before the anticipation became exhausting.

Frasier, which premiered in 1993 and ran for 11 seasons, centered on Kelsey Grammer’s FrasierCrane and his family, with Niles and Daphne becoming increasingly important to the ensemble. Their relationship gave the series one of its longest-running romantic storylines without overshadowing its broader comedy.

“The creators…knew when to end the series; they ended it before any of us were ready. They didn’t want it to dribble off and have the network or the studio say: ‘Yeah, you’re done.’ They wanted to be able to craft a final season,” Pierce told The Guardian. “So I don’t know if there are things we wish they did, but I do think those two things were handled really well.”