THE LADY IN THE BOTTLE

At 8pm on September 18, 1965, a new show was launched on American TV, hoping to win over audiences with a mix of magic and mayhem. Sixty years on, Barbara Eden talks to The Weekly about the impact of I Dream of Jeannie - and the reason it's still endlessly re-run around the world.

- TIFFANY DUNK

Sidney Sheldon knew he was on to a good thing. The writer who had made the leap to the small screen after a storied film and Broadway career - had penned a new series about a genie and her unlikely master which tapped into the cultural zeitgeist of the times.

It was 1964 and America was gripped with the Space Race astronauts were the modern-day rockstars. That same year the comedy series Bewitched had launched to massive ratings, viewers entranced with the witchy antics of Samantha and her family.

And so, Sidney had created I Dream of Jeannie. The series began with an astronaut landing on a deserted beach where he found a mysterious bottle.

Rubbing it, a beautiful genie would emerge... and the antics would begin.

After a long search, he'd finally cast the star of the sitcom: Barbara Eden. He'd also found a talented up-andcomer by the name of Larry Hagman to play against his more seasoned leading lady. The chemistry between the two was electric and he was sure together they'd provide the magic dust that would see his new show succeed. So too would the innovative special effects. Oh, and Barbara's midriff-baring costume, of course.

Certainly, NBC thought it would be a smash - the network had eagerly bought the upcoming project.

And then, the weekend before cameras were set to roll, Barbara dropped a bomb.

"Michael [Ansara, her husband] and I had tried for a long time for me to get pregnant," she tells The Weekly.

"The day the show was sold was the day my doctor told me I was going to have a baby. And believe me, the baby eclipsed the show.

"I called Sidney and said, 'I have to talk to you'. He said, 'I'll see you on Monday', and I said, 'No, I have to see you right now."" Arriving in a panic at his house, she found Sidney in the midst of a dinner party. Taking him aside into his office, she took a deep breath.