Showbiz

Sean Hayes: 'Betty White is phenomenal'

Published Friday, Jun 11 2010, 20:51 BST | By Lara Martin

Sean Hayes has described Hot In Cleveland star Betty White as "phenomenal", saying that the show was "lucky" to get her.

The 88-year-old actress stars as Elka, the housekeeper of a property in Cleveland that three women decide to rent after leaving Los Angeles to start new lives.

Hayes - who is a producer on the TV Land show - said: "When we sat down and thought who would be the best Elka, we immediately thought of Betty White collectively. Who else in that age category do you go to?! She's an anomaly. She's phenomenal in everything she does.

"We're lucky to get her. We actually got her months and months and months ago so the timing couldn’t have been better."

The former Will & Grace star - who will host this weekend's Tony Awards - added that he is "enjoying" the experience of producing, explaining: "It's really, really fun to be creative in a different sense."

White previously said that it was a "delight" working on the sitcom and praised the chemistry between her co-stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leaves and Wendy Malick.

The Tony Awards air this Sunday at 8pm on CBS.

> Click here to read the full interview with Sean