'Desperate Housewives' star 'stunned' by slap

Nicollette Sheridan told a court she was stunned after being struck by the creator of 'Desperate Housewives' on the set of the ABC show.

The actress re-enacted the hard blow on the head she claims series creator and executive producer Marc Cherry inflicted during a dispute over a scene in September 2008.

Her character was killed off the show months later and her lawyers claim Cherry made that decision after he was cleared of wrongdoing by network executives.

Sheridan was the first witness called at the Los Angeles trial. She split the day between testifying about the early years on 'Desperate Housewives', and the dispute with Cherry and its aftermath.

The 48-year-old actress is seeking more than $6m (€5.26m) for wrongful termination and battery and will resume her evidence today.

Cherry has denied wrongdoing.

The case, that will offer glimpses into behind-the-scenes manoeuvres of a hit TV show, centres on whether Sheridan's complaints about Cherry's slap - described by her lawyer as a hard whack, and a defence lawyer as a tap meant to give artistic direction - led to her character Edie Britt's violent demise and the loss of her $175,000 (€131,642)-an-episode job.

Sheridan's lawyer Mark Baute claims her character was killed off only after ABC cleared Cherry of wrongdoing.

Adam Levin, who represents Cherry and ABC, maintains the decision to kill off Sheridan's character came months before the on-set dispute and was made after consulting the highest ranks of the network's management.

He noted on Wednesday that Sheridan did not suffer any physical injuries and denied Mr Baute's accusations that Cherry or other show employees tried to cover up the row between the producer and Sheridan.

The series, which stars, Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross, could provide some star power to the trial because all are listed as potential witnesses.

Sheridan's character died in the show's fifth season after being nearly strangled, involved in a car crash and finally, electrocuted.

Cherry appeared pained on Wednesday as Mr Baute described Britt's demise as a "triple homicide" and her reappearance a few episodes later in "a ridiculous ghost scene".

Jurors will be shown clips from the show, writer's notes and diagrams of sets, as well as Sheridan's contracts and emails from studio personnel, lawyers said.

Desperate Housewives made a pop-culture and ratings splash when it premiered in 2004 but has seen its audience dwindle. It is in its last season.

The scene that led to the dispute between Sheridan and Cherry was originally not meant to include the actress' character. Her role was added after several revisions and was a short scene in which Britt needled her on-screen husband about how to write a love song.

A later script called for her to strike him with a magazine.

Her lawyer Patrick Maloney showed jurors various versions of the script, and played a montage of some of Sheridan's highlights from the show, including her attempting to seduce men and washing a car with her blouse unbuttoned and bra exposed.

Some jurors laughed as the scenes were played. Many had seen the show in its early seasons.

Sheridan told the panel that she was not similar to her character. "I think honesty is about the only thing we shared," she said.