Recap: Nicollette Sheridan Accused of Tardiness

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Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful termination trial wrapped up the week with Desperate Housewives executive producer George Perkins testifying that Sheridan was late for work about "50 percent of the time."

Perkins also said on the witness stand Friday that he had to have discussions with the 48-year-old star "multiple times" each season about not adequately knowing her lines, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Regarding her tardiness, Perkins suggested Sheridan was acting out
purposefully. "She would often tell me her call time was too early. She
didn't think we needed her as early as she was being called," the
producer was quoted as saying.

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Under questioning by Sheridan's attorney, Perkins admitted that no
specific records were kept of when she arrived on set and that he was
basing his claims on his own memory.

Sheridan's character Edie was killed off the hit ABC show in the fifth season and attorneys for the show claim the on-screen offing was a creative decision. However, Sheridan alleges in the lawsuit that she was fired for complaining that Cherry struck her during a fight in September 2008. 

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Cherry testified earlier about the incident, saying that he was simply trying to convey some direction to the actress on how to use physical humor. But Sheridan told jurors that she was stunned and humiliated by the blow, which she described as a wallop. She claimed Cherry informed her that her character would be killed off in February 2009 and told her that he had just made the decision.

Actor James Denton, who rehearsed and shot with Sheridan the day of her dispute with Cherry, told jurors he didn't learn of Britt's death until he received a script detailing it the following year. "I can't say I was shocked, only because people get killed so often," he testified.

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Cherry and other witnesses have said that the approval to kill off Sheridan's character Edie Britt was given in May 2008, four months before the actress accused Cherry of striking her hard in the head during a discussion of a scene.