NCIS star Vanessa Lachey was reduced to tears ahead of the CBS show's major crossover episode which aired on Monday evening. The actress and TV presenter, who plays Special Agent Jane Tennant, made an appearance on The Talk ahead of the big TV event when she shared her pride at being the first female lead of an NCIS franchise.
Introducing the Love Is Blind star to the stage, the hosts on the show made the announcement about Vanessa's achievement she walked on looking visibly emotional.
WATCH: NCIS shares epic new sneak peek at three-way crossover
As the brunette beauty sat down, she said through tears: "I wasn't gonna get emotional, but you said I made history and I never really thought about that."
After the other stars on the panel congratulated her, Vanessa continued: "I love that I get to be the one to be the first female lead. So, a massive thank you to CBS studios and CBS networks."
MORE: NCIS: LA fans share reaction to return of 'favorites' ahead of major crossover
MORE: NCIS star LL Cool J reveals one major agent is 'missing' in upcoming crossover event
Vanessa was so proud to be the first female lead
The crossover episode, which featured stars from the original drama as well as two other spin-offs, was a three-hour marathon that was not short of drama. The episode brought together the teams from Washington DC, Hawaii and LA branches come together for a high-stakes investigation, in which the agents learned that they each had a six-digit bounty on their head via the dark web.
The official synopsis reads: "Team members from the different NCIS divisions come together in Washington, D.C., to celebrate a beloved FLETC professor who taught multiple members of each of the squads.
Did you watch the crossover episode?
"On the eve of the celebration, the professor is found dead of an apparent suicide, though his former students immediately suspect foul play. While investigating the prof's past, the agents uncover a mysterious hitman, and the more they dig into it, the bigger the targets on their backs become."
Fans were thrilled with the episode and many were even shocked to see the return of a beloved character, Hetty Lange. It was a long coming for fans, who last heard from Hetty in the season 14 premiere when it was suggested that the agent had faked her own death in Syria.
Like this story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter and get the heads-up on the shows and films everyone’s talking about.