Sherri Shepherd Admits She Requested a Kissing Scene with Malcolm-Jamal Warner

Sherri Shepherd had one big request when she worked with Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

Warner, who died in July after drowning on a trip in Costa Rica, starred alongside Shepherd, 58, in her eponymous sitcom in 2009.

During a Monday, Sept. 22 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, the talk show host recalled working with the late star, who was 54 when he died.

“He played my husband in a show called Sherri,” she explained, before joking, “I don’t know why I like my name in everything.”

“But he played my husband, and I told the writers, ‘I don’t care what y’all do, I need to have a kissing scene with Malcolm-Jamal Warner.'”

“He was so kind, he was just — you loved working with him. He was very giving,” Shepherd continued. “And he loved the art and he loved people.”

Host Andy Cohen called Warner’s death a “tragedy,” and Shepherd agreed. “It absolutely was. We miss him.”

Following Warner’s death, Shepherd reflected on their time together in a statement shared with PEOPLE.

“I’m completely devastated over the passing of my friend Malcolm-Jamal Warner. He brought much laughter and gravitas playing my husband on my self-titled sitcom. He also made two appearances on my talk show Sherri, most recently in April to promote his series Alert: Missing Persons Unit,” she said.

“As someone who grew up on TV, Malcolm remained one of the most-grounded people I’ve ever met in our business. To know Malcolm was to know a renaissance man that possessed humor, grace, humility and deep cultural appreciation. He was just a good guy!”

Shepherd concluded, “His passing is a true loss to the Hollywood community. He was a proud girl dad and loved his daughter so much. To his family, friends and all who loved him—my heart is with you.”

Warner was in Costa Rica with his 8-year-old daughter, who was there as part of an immersion program for her homeschooling, Warner’s mom Pamela Warner revealed on Good Morning America earlier this month.

Despite some initial reports that his daughter was in the water with him when he drowned, Pamela confirmed he was with “another gentleman,” but his daughter was not in the water.

“They were in the water, I think maybe chest deep, even at that — maybe waist deep,” Pamela said. “There was an undertow, and my son was not an experienced swimmer. He did not know how to deal with an undertow.”

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Malcolm-Jamal’s daughter and his wife wife, Tenisha Warner, are both in “deep grief,” Pamela said.

“Children process differently,” Pamela said of her granddaughter. “She watched them resuscitate him, try to resuscitate him. She saw that, and I know that’s awfully, awfully traumatic.”