FRESH Prince fans were shocked last night when a weeping Will Smith broke down in tears about the "mistreatment" that took place on set.
He and former Aunt Viv star Janet Hubert buried the hatchet after a decades long bust-up – but in fact it's just one of the show's dramas.
From the behind-the-scenes 'burn book' to running battles with the execs, it was often not all smiles in the Banks residence…
Will versus Janet
By far the most explosive feud to emerge from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – and the one that's rumbled on the longest.
Over the years she called him an "egomaniac" and claimed he was "responsible" for her exit, while Will claimed she wanted Fresh Prince to be the "Aunt Viv Of Bel Air."
Janet had played Aunt Viv for the first three series of the hit but left in 1993 and was replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid.
But last night the pair cleared the air during an emotional episode of Will's wife Jada show Red Table Talk.
The 64-year-old said: "I had been banished and they said it was you who banished me, because I didn't laugh at your jokes.
"Then they ordered me to stay in my room, I couldn't come out on the stage. And I wasn't unprofessional on the set, I just stopped talking to everybody."
Will, 52, broke down in tears and admitted to his rude behaviour saying: "I wasn't perceptive and, ultimately, I wasn't kind."
Alfonso Riberio fired
Incredibly, TV bosses originally didn't like Alfonso's career-defining role as Carlton Banks – saying he was fired after one episode.
The actor and sometime Strictly Come Dancing judge, who made the Carlton dance a global sensation, said: "I auditioned for the character, and got the role.
"Then, after we did the pilot, he decided that my character should be recast. So there was a moment where essentially I was hired and rehired…
"There was a large chance that the Carlton character would have been played by somebody else."
Donald Trump causes chaos
Back when he was just a property magnate with a penchant for appearing on TV shows, Donald Trump is said to have sparked mayhem backstage in a 1994 episode.
According to one crew member quoted, the the 74-year-old was "really rude" and "disrespectful" during his turn on the episode For Sale by Owner, when he looked into buying the Banks' house.
Trump is said to have thrown his papers all over the floor and told the producer his lines weren't funny enough.
Show boss Gary H Miller is quoted as replying: "With all due respect, I would never think of giving you any advice about real estate because I don’t know about real estate.
"But I do know comedy – and trust me, you’ll get a laugh.”
The backstage 'burn book'
Karyn Parsons, the actress who played Hilary Banks, revealed the cast kept a scathing book on set where they could vent about their co-stars.
Referring to James Avery, who played Uncle Phil, she said: "In the kitchen, there was a drawer in the island that had a little diary.
"Every now and then a camera person or the actors, somebody would just write silly poetry or 'James is getting on my nerves.'
"We would make little notes, so I took that. I need to pull that out, especially now that James has passed, because I know he's written in there. I know he was written about."
She said she still has the book and is keeping it as a moment about her screen dad, who died in 2013.
Will's battle to stay on the show
The Fresh Prince was undeniably Will Smith's show – but at the start bosses at TV channel NBC nearly got rid of him.
The star, who was 21 when he appeared as a fictionalised version of himself, is said to have fought a running battle with execs to stay on the series.
Bosses are thought to have been unimpressed that he had no training as an actor couldn't remember lines.
The channel had originally wanted Kid 'n' Play – a hip-hop duo – for the role but turned it down, according to Christopher 'Kid' Reid.
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