On the second episode of the third season of Warehouse 13, Aaron Ashmore's Steve Jinks came out gay to Claudia Donovan (played by Allison Scagliotti).

Warehouse 13 – part The X-Files and part Raiders of the Lost Ark – became an instant hit in 2009 when cabler SyFy aired its initial 6-episode season.

The 31-year-old Ashmore, who is best known for playing Jimmy Olsen on the CW's Smallville, joined the cast this season.

In the episode, Steve and Claudia collide over Claudia's frequent references to being the senior agent on their investigation as they share the front seat of a car during a stakeout. Steve tells her to “relax” because it's just the two of them on the mission, which Claudia takes as a come on.

“I felt it too, that crackling chemistry between us,” Claudia says. “It's just that I really need to focus on my career right now. I don't have a ton of bandwidth for other stuff. As attractive as that other stuff may be.”

“Oh my god, I'm not hitting on you, I'm gay,” Steve interrupts.

“You're how now?” Claudia asks.

“Gay. You know when two people of the same sex find each other …”

The scene ends with the revelation taking the pair from adversaries to friends.

According to gay glossy Out, the decision to make Steve gay was the network's.

Showrunner Jack Kenny told the magazine that the network pitched the idea to make Steve gay.

“We were pitching this character and a couple of the execs are gay and said, 'What if Steve was gay?' We immediately jumped on the idea – but it's just a part of who he is, it doesn't define the character.”

Ashmore agreed, saying romance on Warehouse 13 is perpetually on the back burner: “[T]he show's not really about romantic relationships. These people's lives are crazy trying to save the world, so there's not a lot of time for love. I think when he interacts with some people, in the back of my mind as an actor, I'll decide that he thinks a guy is cute. But it doesn't play into how he does his job.”