Jesse Metcalfe reveals why he was fired from Desperate Housewives after season 1

Desperate Housewives star Jesse Metcalfe has opened up about why he was fired from the comedy-drama after the first season.

Now, fans of the long-running show, which first hit our screens back in 2004, will know all about Metcalfe's character, John Rowland, who played a teen having an affair with Eva Longoria’s character, Gabrielle Solis.

While the show went on for another seven seasons, ending in 2012, fans were gutted after finding out that heartthrob Metcalfe, now 47, would not be returning.

Speaking on Tuesday's episode (17 March) of Amanda Hirsch’s Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Metcalfe explained a little more about the reason behind his departure,

"I was fired from Desperate Housewives," he began, before adding: "After the first season, they didn’t really know where else to take my storyline."

Desperate Housewives star Jesse Metcalfe has opened up about why he was axed from the show after the first season (John Parra / Contributor / Getty Images)

The actor continued: "Our creator, Marc Cherry, was like, 'This isn’t Desperate House Gardeners, this is Desperate Housewives, so unfortunately you’re not going to be a series regular moving forward on the show.

"At that time, I had been offered [the lead role in] John Tucker Must Die from 20th Century Fox, so I was like, hey, cool, no big deal. I’m going to be a movie star."

He recalled: "I was just kind of riding the wave, you know, because that show really broke me and I had everything coming at me and I was just enjoying it."

Following his departure from the hit ABC show, Metcalfe was brought back as a guest star in several of the following seasons.

Metcalfe starred as heartthrob John Rowland on the series (ABC)

Metcalfe's performance in the series skyrocketed him to fame, eventually getting him three Teen Choice Award nominations in 2005 for TV actor, TV breakout performance and choice hottie, with him taking home the breakout star trophy.

Over the years, Metcalfe has been very candid about how his role on Desperate Housewives affected him later down the line.

"Being a sex symbol is very much about the roles that you play and my roles put me up on a pedestal," he told i-D magazine back in 2021.

"But my appearance was also criticised and picked apart by a lot of people in the media. Having your shirt off in every episode of Housewives brought a lot of pressure."

He added: "You have to stay in the best shape you can and then between projects, everyone expects you to stay in that shape 24/7, 365.

"That’s not realistic. That’s why paparazzi catch actors between projects looking out of shape— they’re taking time off, and that includes the gym."