Ted Danson has recalled a moment early in his relationship with Mary Steenburgen when he was questioned by then US president Bill Clinton about his "intentions" towards the actress.

The Cheers actor, 78, spoke about the encounter during a History Talks panel alongside Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, according to Variety.

Ted's relationship with Mary Steenburgen, 73, began in 1993 when they met on the set of Pontiac Moon. Mary, a close friend of the Clintons, introduced Ted to them at the White House early in their relationship.

The couple went on to marry in October 1995 and have since worked together professionally, including on Netflix's Man on the Inside, where Mary joined the cast for its second season.

Ted said about his encounter with Bill: "One of the first things she did was take me to meet her dear friends in the White House.

"Bill - Mr President - took me around the corner, and there were three Secret Service agents behind him, all of them looking at me.

"The president asked me what my intentions were."

Ted added: "My first question is to you, Mr. President: Do you think that was fair?"

The exchange prompted a response from Bill, who said: "No, but it was effective. And I didn't think I had to be fair. As it turned out, you became the best thing that ever happened to her."

Speaking to People in 2021, Ted described his decision to propose to Mary, saying: "I couldn't imagine not being with her at all times."

Mary also spoke about their relationship in the same interview.

She said: "Not to sound corny, but I would sign up for 100 more lifetimes. He makes me a better person. He's a truly beautiful human being. A great big soul. I love how he sees the world and how he cares about people, and he's deeply hilarious, which is super, super sexy to me, and he smells really nice."

On Man on the Inside Mary joined the series as a love interest for Ted's character - leaving the pair overjoyed to be working together.

Speaking to People in 2025, the actress said: "There was a lot of screaming and jumping up and down… because we were so excited to work together."

Ted added: "We're both actors. We were trained the same way. We had some really good material to work with. We'd get up every morning giggling about what we get to do."