Susan Kent, left to right, Mark Critch, Cathy Jones and Shaun Majumder pose in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - CBC, Brendan Clinton

TORONTO - When the cast of "22 Minutes" reflects on the show's 22 years of skewering Canadian politicians, there's one public figure they've seen change the most: Stephen Harper.

Harper was spotlight-hungry while he was Canadian Alliance leader, often requesting to be a part of the satirical news series in the early 2000s, says comedian Mark Critch.

"When I first started going up there on the Hill, I'd be interviewing somebody else ... Then he would come over and go, 'Hey, you want me to do anything with you?' I'm like, 'No, no, we're good,'" Critch recalled.

So the funnyman would do "fake interviews" with Harper in which he didn't bother to roll the cameras, Critch said. Once the MP wanted him to do a bit about how he was working on the weekend when no other politicians were on Parliament Hill.

"So I go up there and the camera guy is like, 'Why are we doing this?' I'm like, 'To be nice! This guy, he's a nice guy,'" Critch said. "So I did a pretend piece. And I'm like, 'This guy.' And now he's the prime minister, so you never know!"

The cast was in Toronto on Thursday to attend a gala celebrating the 22nd anniversary of the hit CBC comedy. A special hour-long retrospective episode of "22 Minutes" will air Tuesday.

While Harper was once eager to appear on the show, things changed after he became prime minister, according to the cast.

Susan Kent, the newest cast member of "22 Minutes," pointed to a 2008 incident in which comedian Geri Hall was handcuffed and removed from a Halifax news conference by security guards after trying to approach Harper.

"She doesn't even get anywhere near him, and she's taken out," said Kent. "There's like three or four security guards. They're waiting. Right away, they come and get her. That's the moment. That was the moment it changed.

"If you watch the retrospective, you'll see Mary (Walsh) kissing Harper on the lips, Harper wanting to be involved, and then all of a sudden it just shut down."

Asked about Harper's apparent reluctance to participate in the show, his spokesman Jason MacDonald replied in an email: "We're not interested in engaging conflict, we're focused on the priorities of Canadian families."

The incident with Hall wasn't the only time "22 Minutes" created headlines. In 2011, then-mayor of Toronto Rob Ford famously made a profanity-laced call to police after Walsh (dressed as "Princess Warrior" Marg Delahunty) showed up on his driveway.

Then there was the time Shaun Majumder, in character as the awkward Raj Binder, sparked outrage when he managed to sneak into an official photo of Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens alumni during the 2003 NHL Winter Classic.

"The next day, the papers and radio were blowing up with 'Who is this idiot that ruined the photo?'" recalled Majumder with a laugh.

"Then they call Shaun Majumder, and I'm like, 'Guys, listen, Raj is gone. I don't know where he went. He's very embarrassed by this. He feels horrible. He feels upset because he was just trying to get a photo of him and the ice hockey rink, as he called it, and all these hockey players got in and ruined his shot.'"

Among Critch's most famous stunts was in 2013 when he offered to smoke a joint with Liberal leader Justin Trudeau in the politician's office. Trudeau burst out laughing and snatched away Critch's lighter, saying, "You're not going to hotbox my office!"

Afterward, a member of Trudeau's team requested that "22 Minutes" not air the segment, according to Critch.

"That was the only time we've ever been asked that in the show, ever," he recalled. "I said, 'No, because nobody's ever asked that. I have to put it in now because you asked. And also it's kind of funny and makes you look good.'"

Kate Purchase, director of communications for the Liberal leader, confirmed that she asked for a portion of the segment to be cut "as it was a highly inappropriate thing to do in a Parliamentary office."

"That said, we were happy to continue to work with ('22 Minutes'), including celebrating their 22nd anniversary," she said in an email.

Cathy Jones, the only original cast member who remains a regular, said the show qualifies as a "tradition" after 22 years.

"What is amazing about this show is that it is comic relief when things are too serious in the world, and then it's allowed to be biting satire when things are a little bit looser," she said.

"It shows the heart of the country when (former prime minister Jean) Chretien is willing to be a real guy, and that was a beautiful thing. It really is the pulse of what's happening in the country."

Majumder said the cast feels a responsibility to say things to politicians that many Canadians wish they could say.

"As a satirical show, it's our job to push those buttons and ask those questions that other people will never be able to," he said. "There's no other show on Canadian TV right now that does this. We are it. Let's go hard and go right after it.

"I think we do that and we want to continue to do that. And as long as we do that, this show should be around forever."

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News from © The Canadian Press, 2014