Forty-five years have passed since the debut of the TV soap opera “Dallas” and the main characters along with one of the directors of the series met to remember the old days.

Dallas starred, among others, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray, Charlene Tilton, Audrey Landers, Steve Canale, Joan Van Ark, Sherry Wilson and Kathy Pontewell, who joined director Michael Pres in Palm Springs, California to celebrate 45 years of the series.

Speaking about the series to People magazine, Gray said: “I think Dallas was a very popular daytime soap opera, it was a big production and it filled the need of viewers who like to see a series with suspense that always has something to give them in the Continuity”.

“Because the show was on the air for so many years the audience got to know the characters in depth and really cared about them and the characters went through so much,” Gray added. “And I think the fans really enjoyed identifying with the larger-than-life stories… ‘Dallas’ was a big influence.”

“‘Dallas’ had a typical way of writing series that can play any time period, having certain episodes or that can play for many years. It all started with us” said Duffy for his part.

Charlene Tilton later said that “I think it was, as far as I know, the first show that showed characters who were really flawed, but they were really loved by the audience. And each of us had a major flaw, but they were still people that the public loved.”

“Dallas” ended after 14 seasons, from 1978 to 1991, winning four Emmys. The series followed the lives of the wealthy Ewing family, from the rise of their oil business to the tangled personal lives of family members.

In 2012 there was an attempt to revive the successful soap opera, which lasted for three seasons.