On “Baywatch”'s 35th Anniversary, Carmen Electra Talks Difficult Stunts — and Sends 'Respect' to David Hasselhoff

Thirty-five years after the show premiered, the actress says getting her stunts right always felt like “a huge accomplishment”

It’s been 35 years since the babes and bros of Baywatch bounded onto America’s TV screens. The series, about a team of Southern California lifeguards, was already a syndicated hit by 1997. But Carmen Electra remembers the show’s producers and directors upping the ante for her and other new cast members who joined the series as new recruits in its eighth season.

“Our producer and directors wanted us to do as much of our own stunts as we possibly could,” the 52-year-old actress recently told PEOPLE. “They were constantly pushing for that because I think that was something people complained about in the past. So, when our new cast came about, we were a part of the rookie school class that has to learn everything from the beginning.”

“So we were running and running and running. And we had to do all the jumping over water, diving into it, the swims, everything it took to be able to see if you could be a lifeguard,” Electra recalled. “And my character was supposed to be that lifeguard, so I remember when we would have scenes running, sometimes I had these guys, obviously these strong guys, that are passing me up.”

Related: Carmen Electra Reveals She Wore Another Cast Member's Red Swimsuit on Baywatch: 'It Was Kind of Cool' (Exclusive)

Electra recalled that when she would fall behind in those scenes, the show’s director would have to find ways to make it appear like her character was keeping up. “They would stop a little bit, move me up, start again. Or say, ‘Hey guys, run a little bit slower,’ ” she recalled. “And I was running as fast as I possibly could. And the heat! The sun would be so hot it burns your feet, but you got to deal with it.”

Electra said that one of the first things she was asked in her audition for the show was whether she could swim. “I said, ‘Yes, of course I can,’ ” she recalled. “The thing is, I'm okay in a pool. I mean, I was a gymnast and trained in classical ballet most of my life, and I grew up swimming in friends' pools and in the river and stuff, in the Ohio River, little swim parks.”

“When we were rehearsing and we were really getting in the water, sometimes it was really hard,” she continued. “I would end up getting through things, but that always felt like such a great accomplishment. If I could dive off the speeding boat with the rescue cam, tandem dive with two other people right on time, to me that was a great accomplishment. Doing surfing scenes and tandem surfing, which was really scary.”

“There were a lot of scenes I'd struggle with,” Electra said.

One aspect of the job she never figured out was how to not get water up her nose while swimming. “I never could understand how you push the water out and still hold your breath,” she said. “It was always a strange thing for me that I never really got.”

Despite the challenges, Electra said, “When I would do a scene and it was completely successful, it felt like a huge accomplishment, and those times were really good.”

Related: The Cast of Baywatch: Where Are They Now?

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During a panel at 90s Con in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Saturday, Sept. 14, Electra elaborated on the stunts — and noted an extra layer of difficulty they required.

"You're coming out of the water and [your eyes] are burning and you're trying to look hot at the same time," she said with a laugh. Plus, "The slow-mo running was so funny to me."

However, the hard work gave her a sense of gratitude, too.

"I have so much respect for David Hasselhoff — that was his show — and the cast that did it for so long. It was hard, it was tough."

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