Ashton Kutcher's first day on Two and a Half Men was very tense.
The 33-year-old actor - who replaced troubled star Charlie Sheen on the CBS sitcom after he was fired following a public spat with the show's creator Chuck Lorre - first appeared on set on Monday, but theatmosphere was so strained onlookers could "cut the air with a knife".
Nina Tassler, CBS programming chief, explained: "When everybody walked on the set you could cut the air with a knife."
However, the tension was quickly broken by Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer - who portrays Charlie's on-screen brother Alan Harper - who delivered a "touching" speech to the cast and crew.
Nina added to Fox News: "He gave a little speech. I can't even remember the words. It was just something very touching.
"Then, when you hear that first actor mutter that first line, you breathe a sigh of relief."
Ashton is to play Walden Schmidt, an internet billionaire with a broken heart, and show bosses promise Two and a Half Men will be "as irreverent" as when Charlie was the main star.
Nina said: "The show will be as irreverent as it has ever been."
