Valerie Bertinelli Recalls Early Days On“ One Day At A Time” Set Ahead Of 50th Anniversary: 'i Can Still See The Audience' (exclusive)

The actress, who played the sweet Barbara on the CBS sitcom, also tells EW why cast reunions have become more heartbreaking over the years.

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Valerie Bertinelli can still remember her very first days on the set of One Day at a Time like it was yesterday — even almost 50 years on. 

The Golden Globe-winning actress, who serves as a lifestyle expert on the fifth season of The Drew Barrymore Show, tells Entertainment Weekly that she can still vividly recall the exact moment that she knew her life was never going to be the same thanks to the beloved ‘70s sitcom, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this December.

“I remember being 15, standing at the apartment door, and really thinking, at 15 years old, ‘This is gonna change my life,’” Bertinelli says. “Wow, I can still smell the smells. I can still see the audience. It's like there's certain moments — I mean, 15 is a long time ago from 50 years — so it's hard to remember a lot of stuff that's not that recent, but there's certain memories from One Day at a Time that I still take with me. And that's one of them.”

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Developed by Norman Lear, One Day at a Time followed single mother Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) and her two daughters Barbara (Bertinelli) and Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) as they started over in Indianapolis following a divorce. There was a magical quality about the series, Bertinelli says, that stuck out to her straight away.

“I knew that was going to be special. I don't know how I knew that then, but I could feel it,” she says. “I wish I’d feel those feelings more. I mean, I feel it [on The Drew Barrymore Show]. I love the way the audience is growing here. I love the way that Drew is finding the audience that resonates with her and that they look forward to having Drew in their living room for the afternoons, because it takes so long for a talk show to find its legs.”

As a member of the show’s Drew Crew, Bertinelli can frequently be seen teaming up with host Drew Barrymore and costar Ross Mathews to lead cooking segments, impart honest dating advice to the audience, and offer her thoughts on the latest pop culture headlines. The show itself is also no stranger to staging an onscreen reunion for its cast – and Bertinelli knows exactly which one of her former costars she’d like to have come visit the set if given the chance. 

“God, I'd love to see Mac on the show,” she confesses, referring to Phillips. “I talk to her, I text her, but because I'm so old, it's kind of hard to do a reunion with people because Bonnie and Pat [Harrington Jr.] are gone, you know?” 

Franklin died at 69 in 2013, while Harrington, who played quirky handyman Dwayne Schneider, died at 86 in 2016. Bertinelli explains that One Day at a Time isn't the only one of her projects that has lost a few loved ones along the way.

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“Betty [White] is gone from Hot in Cleveland, but Jane [Leeves] and Wendie [Malick] are still around. Touched by an Angel — Roma [Downey] is here, but John [Dye] and Della [Reese] are both gone,” she says. “Anything I would do a reunion with, there's some missing pieces, which always kind of breaks your heart. I mean, I would love to have had Norman on the show, but he's been gone now for over a year."

Still, she notes that the experiences on all four shows have taught her that there are more kind people in the entertainment industry than people might believe. 

“Hot in Cleveland was a great set. One Day at a Time was a great set. The Drew Barrymore set — it’s an amazing set full of really kind, good people,” Bertinelli says. “I’m so lucky to be doing this for 50-some-odd years and to run into very few a-holes. I count myself like one of the lucky ones.” 

The Drew Barrymore Show airs weekdays on CBS.