JamesG
04-21-2026, 12:53 AM
"The Love Boat" Star Reveals Why she Broke Down on Set as a Teen
by Sharareh Drury
April 20, 2026
While "The Love Boat" most often provided romantic storylines and comedic bits, actress Jill Whelan is remembering a more stressful time while on board — as well as a costar who came to her rescue.
Speaking on the Patrick LabyorSheaux podcast, Whelan recalled a particularly challenging day of filming for the ABC television series.
"I remember one time when I was just 13 and quote unquote becoming a woman, the very day of, and I was doing a scene with Loni Anderson, and we were in the purser's lobby, and I used to get everything in one take," Whelan, who played the captain's daughter Vicki Stubing on six of the series' nine seasons.
"I didn't mess up like that. And I couldn't get this line out. I couldn't get it out," she said on the podcast.
She remembered becoming emotional when thinking about everyone on set, and if she was wasting their time.
"I started thinking in my head, ‘Oh my god, money is time, time is money. All these people are here, everybody’s waiting,'" Whelan shared. "So then, I just started to cry."
What made the already difficult situation even worse was the director for the episode became "really angry" with Whelan.
However, co-star Lauren Tewes came to the rescue and put an end to Whelan's on-set anxiety. The actress, who starred as cruise director Julie McCoy on the television series, "admonished the director and said something to the effect of ‘leave her alone, this is not helping her at all, and all you're doing is making things worse.'"
https://ew.com/love-boat-star-reveals-why-she-broke-down-in-tears-on-set-as-a-teen-11954445
by Sharareh Drury
April 20, 2026
While "The Love Boat" most often provided romantic storylines and comedic bits, actress Jill Whelan is remembering a more stressful time while on board — as well as a costar who came to her rescue.
Speaking on the Patrick LabyorSheaux podcast, Whelan recalled a particularly challenging day of filming for the ABC television series.
"I remember one time when I was just 13 and quote unquote becoming a woman, the very day of, and I was doing a scene with Loni Anderson, and we were in the purser's lobby, and I used to get everything in one take," Whelan, who played the captain's daughter Vicki Stubing on six of the series' nine seasons.
"I didn't mess up like that. And I couldn't get this line out. I couldn't get it out," she said on the podcast.
She remembered becoming emotional when thinking about everyone on set, and if she was wasting their time.
"I started thinking in my head, ‘Oh my god, money is time, time is money. All these people are here, everybody’s waiting,'" Whelan shared. "So then, I just started to cry."
What made the already difficult situation even worse was the director for the episode became "really angry" with Whelan.
However, co-star Lauren Tewes came to the rescue and put an end to Whelan's on-set anxiety. The actress, who starred as cruise director Julie McCoy on the television series, "admonished the director and said something to the effect of ‘leave her alone, this is not helping her at all, and all you're doing is making things worse.'"
https://ew.com/love-boat-star-reveals-why-she-broke-down-in-tears-on-set-as-a-teen-11954445