Tuc Watkins talks about "Desperate Housewives," his funny soap role and gay marriage...

Tuc Watkins and I gabbed a bit at the Daytime Emmys over the weekend and, of course, I wanted to know if he would be returning to ABC's "Desperate Housewives" next fall as one half of the gay couple on Wisteria Lane.

"We should find out in the next couple of weeks," he said. "The show fast-forwarded five years and Bob and Lee got married in the last episode and we'll see if we're still living between Gabrielle and Susan."

There was talk that Tuc's character would be split from his husband and in the five years since, be living with Andrew Van de Kamp (Shawn Pyfrom), the show's young gay guy who is growing up to be cute as a button. But Tuc, 41, did not seem thrilled about his character sharing his life with someone 20 years younger.

"I don't like that rumor," he said. "I didn;t like that story and I'm glad that it's just a rumor."
Since Bob and Lee did get hitched on the season finale of "Housewives," I wondered what Tuc's thoughts were on gay marriage becoming legal in California: "I think the Supreme Court decision is fantastic," he said. "I think it's the way things are going to move in the future. I'm anxious to see what's going to happen in November and I think Bob and Lee proved their commitment on the last episode prior to this legislation happening. so, once again, Marc Cherry's ideas are a little bit ahead of the curve."

Meanwhile, there's his day job. I told Tuc that I was "outraged" he has never been nominated for his truly unique role of scam artist David Vickers on "One Life to Live."

"It's ridiculous!" he joked. "If soap opera is meat and potatoes, I provide the broccoli robb," Tuc said. "It's so much fun to play David Vickers. He's the world's stupidest smart guy."

Tuc first appeared as David in 1996 and in the last 12 years, has taken leave from the show to do such things as "The Mummy" film, the terrific Showtime series "Beggars and Choosers" and the classic gay indie film "I Think I Do..."

But he has always been able to return to David: "He's the kind of guy who can kind of come and go because you never know where he's gonna be. It's wherever the next scam is. There aren't a lot of scams you can run in Pennsyvania (where the soap is set). He can go back there to kind of fill the coffers but you've got to go out into the world and experience other things in order to bring something new and different back."

Here are some terrific clips of Tuc in his role as David Vickers. They show why the soap has allowed him to return again and again and again. It doesn't hurt that in the first two clips, he's shirtless!

Here is a fun spoof that catches you up on the David Vickers story...