“Once Upon a Time” fans almost had a reunion with Season 1 character Sheriff Graham – aka “Fifty Shades of Grey” heartthrob, Jamie Dornan. As the hit ABC fairytale drama prepares for its Season 4 premiere, co-creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis revealed that Dornan almost returned to the Enchanted Forest in Season 3.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kitsis teased that they had wanted to stage a “Peggy Sue Got Married” situation with Jamie Dornan in Season 3 of “OUAT.” For those unfamiliar with the reference, “Peggy Sue Got Married” is a 1986 comedy directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Kathleen Turner. The actress played a woman named Peggy Sue Bodell, who recently separated from her high-school sweetheart husband, Charlie (Nicholas Cage). At her 25-year high school reunion, Peggy Sue gets transported back to her senior year of high school in 1960.

Sheriff Graham -- aka The Huntsman -- was killed by Regina (Lana Parrilla) in Season 1 after he began to get suspicious of Storybrooke. Regina crushed his heart in her hands, and Emma (Jennifer Morrison) was forced to watch him die in her arms.

The return of Dornan’s character, Sheriff Graham, would have occurred in the “Once Upon a Time” Season 3 finale when Emma and Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) got sucked into Zelena’s (Rebecca Mader) portal to the Enchanted Forest of the past. However the actor was reportedly busy filming “Fifty Shades of Grey” at the time, and couldn’t commit to the guest appearance.

“He would’ve been one of the guards because it would’ve been during that period,” Horowitz explained of their original game plan. “She wouldn’t seen him, and it would’ve been heartbreaking for her because she would’ve wanted to reach out to him, but knowing that – because she’s on a mission – she couldn’t. It wasn’t a big plot thing, but it was an emotional moment that we wanted to do.”

The desire to bring back Jamie Dornan wasn’t just something that Kitsis and Horowitz wanted. As we previously reported, the stars of “Once Upon a Time” would be happy to welcome back their former co-star.

“We’re still good friends and obviously Jamie has quite the schedule,” Morrison told E! News in August. “But we’re hoping that someday there will be a moment when he’s available to come back and reprise some flashbacks of Sheriff Graham.”

Season 4 of “Once Upon a Time” will premiere on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 28, at 8 p.m. EDT. Jamie Dornan will appear as kinky billionaire Christian Grey when the movie version of E.L. James’s erotic novel, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” hits theaters on Feb. 13, 2015.

Would you have been happy to see Jamie Dornan reprise his role as Sheriff Graham? Take the poll below and tweet your thoughts to @AmandaTVScoop:

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