Though it caused quite a stir once it reached the air, it turns out that William Shatner had to fight fairly hard for the opportunity to kiss Nichelle Nichols on television.

The Star Trek episode “Plato’s Stepchildren” is notable due to its depiction of a kiss between characters Kirk and Uhura. The third season episode was not television’s first depiction of an interracial kiss, though many assumed so. Regardless, the episode is credited as one of Star Trek’s best, and remains a standout in television history.

However, actor Nichelle Nichols revealed that originally, the script called for a kiss between Uhura and Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy. According to Nichols, actor William Shatner was responsible for the change that ultimately led to the final episode.

Watch Star Trek on MeTV!

Next Episode: Nov. 7 at 11PM

*available in most MeTV markets

“Bill Shatner saw what was going on,” said Nichols during an interview with The Vancouver Sun. “He said, ‘Woah, woah, woah. If anybody is gonna get to kiss Lieutenant Uhura it’s gonna be me.’ And so he had the whole thing changed so the first interracial kiss was with Lieutenant Uhura and Captain Kirk.”

Though cast and crew widely recognized the importance of the episode, the cast was more than willing to have a bit of fun behind the scenes.

“Bill wanted to rehearse all the time,” said Nichols. “He said he wanted to get this right! I said to him, ‘It’s right, it’s right. I promise you, it’s right.’ And the camera was shaking, and the director was laughing his head off. We really had a good time.”