With the news that “Scandal” star Kerry Washington is reportedly pregnant with her first child, speculation is mounting as to how the ABC drama would handle an impending baby bump. Could Olivia Pope’s on-again/off-again lover, President Fitzgerald “Fitz” Grant, be the baby daddy?
Or maybe the “Scandal” costume designers could always just opt to dress Olivia in some forgiving trench coats — since TV has a long and storied tradition of hiding stars’ pregnancies with billowy tops, strategically placed props and shots framed from the chest up. Here are five of the more poorly handled examples.
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1. Jane Leeves on “Frasier”
Gale Adler/Paramount In Season Eight of the NBC sitcom, Jane Leeves’ pregnancy was disguised by her character Daphne Moon having a severe eating disorder. Later in the season, her maternity leave was written into the script by having Daphne go to a health spa to cope with her weight problem. When she returned, it is said she lost 9 lbs. 12 oz – the birth weight of her daughter.
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2. Sarah Jessica Parker on “Sex and the City”
HBO/ Courtesy: Everett Collection The producers shortened the fifth season of “Sex and the City” from 13 to eight episodes to give pregnant star Sarah Jessica Parker a break. The wardrobe department took to hiding the petite actress’ tummy with lots of designer baby doll dresses.
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3. Debra Messing on “Will & Grace”
Chris Haston/NBC Debra Messing got pregnant in the sixth season of “Will & Grace,” but her character did not, and the show didn’t even try that hard to hide it – with the camera often showing what was clearly a growing belly. Messing was ordered to bed rest in her eighth month, meaning the actress was absent from the season’s final four episodes.
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4. Courteney Cox on “Friends”
Warner Bros. Television Courteney Cox became pregnant in the final few months of filming “Friends’ ” 10th and final season. Seeing as her character Monica and husband Chandler weren’t supposed to be able to conceive and were adopting a baby, the show had her wear baggy clothing to – and not very convincingly — cover up the pregnancy.
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5. Ellen Pompeo on “Grey’s Anatomy”
Danny Feld/ABC To hide star Ellen Pompeo’s pregnancy in the beginning of Season Six of “Grey’s Anatomy,” the show shot her from the back, neck up, or sitting down. Eventually the writers had her character Dr. Meredith Grey donate part of her liver to her estranged father Thatcher to give her some time off for maternity leave.