Debbe Dunning Started 'Crying Like A Baby' After An Awkward On-Set Moment With Tim Allen

It's tough to even imagine "Home Improvement" without the "Tool Time" girl, Heidi Keppert. Sure enough, though, one throwaway idea from Tim Allen had actor Debbe Dunning thinking she might be replaced by the previous "Tool Time" girl, played by Pamela Anderson. Understandably, Allen's casual brainstorming didn't go over well. 

Throughout the eight-season run of "Home Improvement," Dunning was the most constant "Tool Time" girl, but it was actually Anderson who'd originated the role as Lisa. The "Baywatch" star ultimately stepped away after the show's second season, and Dunning took over for the rest of the show's run. However, when Anderson and Allen bumped into each other in Las Vegas and the former said something about missing "Home Improvement," that was almost put in jeopardy. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about Allen's not-so-tactful line of thinking, the the still-stunning Dunning recalled, "He goes, 'Well, I was telling [Anderson] maybe we could sprinkle her in once in a while and you guys could both kind of share the role." Cue a Jill Taylor eye roll, because seriously?

Unsurprisingly, Dunning, who had just had a baby, didn't take the suggestion very well. "I just remember my head slowly turning towards him and going, 'It's your show. I guess that's what you want.' And my entire neck got blotchy red splotches, and I was like, 'I need to be excused for a moment,'" she recounted. Cut to the dressing room, and Dunning relayed the story to the stage manager, who thankfully put her mind at ease. "She goes, 'Well, that's not happening. You're not going to share,'" Dunning told Entertainment Weekly. However, the emotions bubbled up all the same, and she added, "Then I started crying like a baby, and then we had to go through makeup again." If ever there was an example of why not to spitball ideas about potentially cutting back someone's work hours, this'd be it. 

One benefit of Debbe Dunning's unadulterated reaction to the possibility of Pamela Anderson returning to "Home Improvement" was that she ended up inspiring a storyline for the show. More than that, though, she also cemented herself as the one and only "Tool Time" girl in the process. 

Dunning told Entertainment Weekly that not long after the tense on-set moment, one of the producers of "Home Improvement" reiterated that her job was safe, but also asked if she'd be comfortable with the situation being worked into the script. Dunning, still emotional at the time, told him she wasn't bothered either way, so long as her career wasn't on the line — and sure enough, the writers room got busy. The result was the Season 6 episode "The Kiss & The Kiss-Off," which saw Lisa visit the set of "Tool Time," and Tim Allen's character offering her a guest spot. Making matters worse, during Lisa's guest appearance, Allen kept gushing over how great it was to have his former co-star back, snubbing Heidi in the process. Heidi ultimately quit, and later told Tim she felt unappreciated. 

Of course, Dunning's character did return to "Tool Time" after some groveling from Tim after he gets called out by a number of the "Home Improvement" characters, including his wife, Jill Taylor (played by Patricia Richardson), Richard Karn's Al Borland, and even Lisa herself. It was one way to show the real-life Allen how his careless brainstorming had a real impact on his co-stars, and we like to think Dunning cracks a smile every time she thinks back on it. Certainly, she has nothing but good things to say of "Home Improvement" today; if you're wondering what Dunning is doing now, she still makes regular appearances at fan conventions, and even headlined her own reality show. She's truly a "Tool Time" girl for the ages.