J. Shearer/WireImageSome members of Stephen Collins' 7th Heaven family are in disbelief that the actor is under investigation for child molestation.
Catherine Hicks played the wife of Collins' Reverend Eric Camden character from 1996 to 2007. When asked by TMZ Tuesday about the allegations against her former co-star, Hicks said she "didn't know anything," adding, "Stephen's a good guy in my opinion."
But did anyone on set "have any kind of suspicion" about Collins? "No, gosh, no," Hicks said. "Not to my knowledge!"
Kyle Searles, who had a recurring role on the show from 2004 to 2007, "was a little shocked" to hear the alleged tape of Collins' confessions, telling TMZ, "That wasn't who I remembered at all, not in the least bit."
"I never once had any type of encounter where he was maybe a little inappropriate, nobody in the cast had ever come to me, nor was it ever an issue," said the now-29-year-old actor. "Stephen was somebody that I looked up to. If you ask anybody that knows me pretty well and has asked about my experiences in Los Angeles and acting, Stephen was by far the most likable , influential genuine person that i ever had the pleasure of working with."
Searles recalled Collins knowing "everybody on set—not just the actors—all [the crew] by their first name," adding that the 67-year-old "was a father figure" to everyone he worked with.
Not everyone who spent time with Collins, though, shares this sunny viewpoint of the star. Estranged wife Faye Grant is who recorded the newly released audio of what appears to be Collins' therapy session in which he confesses to molesting and exposing himself to three girls under the age of 14. (In California, it's legal to secretly record conversations to gather evidence if the person is believed to have committed a violent felony.)
But Grant, who is in the midst of divorcing the actor, told E! News exclusively she "had no involvement whatsoever" with the release to the media of a tape containing Collins confessions, saying Tuesday, "I woke up today to learn that an extremely private recording I handed over to the authorities in 2012 per their request in connection with a criminal investigation was recently disseminated to the press."
Collins' lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, responded, telling TMZ, "Over the course of my representation of Stephen in the divorce case, Faye has repeatedly threatened to give this audiotape to the media unless Stephen agreed to pay her millions of dollars more than that to which she was legally entitled."
"When these demands were rebuffed, Faye attempted—without success—to peddle the tape in numerous ways to numerous different people," he added. "It appears that she has finally found an audience for this tape—not surprisingly, on the eve of the trial in the divorce case where, again, she is seeking millions of dollars more than that to which she is legally entitled."
Collins' lawyer added, "Though we would like to address the tape itself, the circumstances dictate that we must regrettably refrain from doing so at this time."
—Additional reporting by Baker Machado and Sara Kitnick