Christopher Rich Says ‘Reba’ Family Supported Him Post-Stroke (Exclusive)

The final episode of The WB’s Reba aired in 2007, but the cast never stopped feeling like a family, according to Christopher Rich.

Ahead of his guest appearance on his Reba costar Reba McEntire‘s new series Happy’s Place on Friday, Feb. 21, Rich, 71, opens up to PEOPLE about how McEntire, Melissa Peterman and the rest of his former castmates have been a constant source of support since he experienced a life-altering stroke in 2018.

According to the Deep River actor, his Reba family was by his side right from the start of his recovery journey. “They were there from the beginning,” Rich tells PEOPLE. “I mean, they came to my hospital bed; they sent me gifts.”

Rich named Peterman, 53 — who also stars on Happy’s Place — as one of his biggest champions over the past eight years.

“Melissa used to come over and bring me treats all the time in the hospital,” he shares. “And she was such a great supporter.”

For the veteran TV actor, having his former costars, along with his wife and three daughters, by his side made him “feel so loved.”

Rich’s stroke has left him unable to use the left side of his body, but through physical therapy and rehab he was able to learn to talk and walk again.

“It’s been a long journey,” he says of the years since his stroke. “You know, I liken it to sort of climbing a marble facade of a building with your fingernails. You make tiny little bits of progress, but you don’t get up there very high.”

For a long while, Rich was uncertain if he would ever return to acting, but with the encouragement of his Reba castmates, who says he would often entertain during gatherings, he made the decision to step back in front of a live studio audience with two of his closest friends by his side on the set of NBC’s Happy’s Place.

Rich says, “The whole group are old friends of mine and they’ve all wanted to help me bring my career back. So they engineered this part that they thought was perfect and it was so much fun for me to play.”

Being on set with McEntire, 69, and Peterman — who played his ex-wife and second wife, respectively, on Reba — made his return to TV a “joyous” experience for the actor. “It’s so much fun, you know, Mel is just a genius, and those two women together make me feel so loved and comfortable,” he says, while also sharing, “It’s just a blast to be on set with them.”

According to Rich, he’s not the only one who is feeling the good vibes on the set of Happy’s Place. The Murphy Brown alum noted that the crew includes many of the same people who worked on Reba, and they feel the same sense of camaraderie that McEntire and the rest of the cast fostered all those years on the set of the WB sitcom.

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“Talking to the boys who are on the crew from the [new] Reba show, they’re saying, ‘It’s just like being back home, Chris,’ ” he adds. “So, I’m saying that it’s probably still the best set in town to work on.”

Rich also has a piece of advice for his fellow actors in Hollywood: “If you ever get a chance to guest star on Happy’s Place, jump at it.”

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Happy’s Place airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.