Jack Whitehall looked at Eva Longoria's husband to stop himself from getting excited whilst wooing her in their new TV show 'Decline and Fall'

Jack readily admits he's had a crush on the former 'Desperate Housewives' actress for years and has joked that in order to contain his feelings for Eva during the filming of the series, in which his character is smitten with brunette beauty, he kept his eyes on her handsome husband José Antonio Bastón.

In an interview with The I Paper, he said: "I was a big 'Desperate Housewives' fan, but I didn't want to say that to her [Eva], so I had to check myself a lot. Also, her husband was on the set most of the time, and he was literally the coolest and sexiest man I have ever seen. So I spent most of my scenes when I was wooing her looking at him and feeling totally emasculated. Which was probably quite good for the character."

Paul agrees to tutor her son over the school holidays but he gets more than he bargained for.

And from the very first scene Jack's character - who starts out as a hapless theology student, is stripped of all his clothes by marauding members of the Bollinger Club and is forced to sprint stark naked across the quad at Scone College, Oxford but runs into the chaplain on his way.

And although Jack is used to getting his kit off on TV - like he did in BBC three sitcom and spin-off movie 'Bad Education' in which he played teacher Alfie Wickers who frequently lost his clothes - he was hoping he could keep his clothes on this time.

He said: "I rarely do things where I keep my clothes on. My heart sank when I saw that first scene. I was saying to myself, 'A period comedy drama. Finally this might be the one where I keep my trousers on!' And then lo and behold, the first scene and I'm out. One day I'll do something where I'm dressed for the whole thing."

'Decline and Fall' - which also stars David Suchet - starts on March 31.