Marc Cherry has taken the trial stand at Nicollette Sheridan's lawsuit against him and ABC.
Sheridan, who played Edie Brit on ABC's Desperate Housewives, is suing series creator and producer Cherry and the network for $6 million (£3.7 million) in a wrongful termination suit.
Cherry testified that he did not kill off Sheridan's character on the show out of retaliation.
He claimed that he wrote off Edie due to financial and creative reasons, and also because of Sheridan's "lack of professional behaviour".
Sheridan has alleged that Cherry hit her on the head after the two disagreed about her character's lines from the show's fifth season.
She has also claimed that her character was killed off on Desperate Housewives after she reported Cherry for hitting her.
A lawyer for ABC and Cherry has admitted that Cherry did hit Sheridan, but told the court that it was a 'tap' to give artistic direction.
Desperate Housewives cast members Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman may also give evidence in the trial, since they are named as potential witnesses for Cherry.
