Shannen Doherty didn’t plan on joining the BH90210 revival until the death of her co-star from the original series Luke Perry. He passed away at just 52-years-old on March 4 following a massive stroke. The 48-year-old actress tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY that it was important to return to the show “Because it was a way for me to honor a very dear friend.” However, she doesn’t want to discuss his sad passing anymore, but it’s for a very sweet personal reason. She explains, “I feel like the more I talk about it, the less of its value it has and I love that person and I just – I think I need to stop and just hold something for myself.”
Shannen and Luke were the last holdouts of the 90210 OG cast, with Jason Priestly, 49, Ian Ziering, 55, Brian Austin Green, 46, and Gabrielle Carteris, 58, coming aboard when Jennie Garth, 47, and Tori Spelling, 46, shepherded the reboot. Luke was already busy with the CW’s Riverdale playing Fred Andrews and it was his passing that convinced Shannen to join the project.
We asked Shannen if she would have done the show regardless of Luke’s tragic death and she tells us, “No, I don’t because I had already said no. I think – I’m very grateful that I did it and I’m really grateful that these guys kept coming back and asking me and I’m very glad. I think the show works because it’s almost all of us and its that chemistry between each and every one of us that makes the show what it really is.” She added that it was “surreal” to see everyone again, after leaving the show following its fourth season in 1994.
Shannen and Luke’s characters Brenda and Dylan’s love story was one of the fan favorite plot lines in the show’s early years. Sadly they lost touch once she left the show. The reconnected again in 2015 when Shannen was diagnosed with breast cancer. She successfully beat the disease and tells us that puts everything in perspective for her now, adding “I don’t think I get excited about TV shows. I get excited about life.”