Shannen Doherty Speaks!

No one was more surprised that Shannen Doherty agreed to participate in Fox's Beverly Hills, 90210 reunion special than, well, Shannen Doherty. "To be honest with you, my first reaction was, 'Hmmm... no thanks,'" admits the 31-year-old actress. So, what made West Beverly's most notorious bad girl change her mind and sign up for 90210: 10 Year High School Reunion (airing Sunday, 9-10 pm/ET)? And what about talk that zip-code-mate Tori Spelling bowed out due to a long-standing feud with her? To set the record straight, the Scare Tactics ringmaster spoke to TV Guide Online and served up enough hot dish to make good ol' Nat proud.
TV Guide Online: So, why did you agree to participate in the reunion?
Shannen Doherty: I started thinking about it, and the 90210 fans are probably the best fans that an actor can have. They're unbelievably loyal. They follow you from show to show. They're unwavering in their support of you as an actor and your career. And ultimately, I think this was sort of my way of saying thank you. I knew that the fans would want me back there, and I sort of felt like it was the least that I could do. And the end result was that it was fun. It was nice to see everybody again, it was nice to catch up, it was nice to take that little walk down memory lane and remember stuff that I had forgotten — the good times.

TVGO: What were your initial reservations?
Doherty: Basically, it has taken me so long... I still hear about Brenda. And I think that that's great, but I was kind of like, "The show's only been off for three years!" Granted I've been off for a lot longer. But how can we be doing a reunion special so soon? And [yet], it seemed like the show was so long ago, that I just didn't want to go back there necessarily. So it was like a contradiction. Those were my only two reservations.

TVGO: It's no secret that there were plenty of ups and downs behind-the-scenes. Does the reunion get into any of the downs?
Doherty: I guess you're gonna have to watch it. (Laughing) I can't answer that question.

TVGO: When was the last time you saw everyone?
Doherty: There are some that I have spoken to on the phone, and some that I haven't seen since the day I left.

TVGO: Like Jennie Garth?
Doherty: Jennie I had actually run into like years and years and years ago. We were both out. I hadn't seen Gabrielle [Carteris].

TVGO: As you know, there are rumors that Tori didn't participate in the special because of bad blood between the two of you. Care to comment?
Doherty: I know for a fact that that couldn't be further from the truth. And her people have actually put out statements saying that's not true. If it were true, they would have just let it go by and not made any comment. So now, it's kind of like, "Are the journalists going to continue to print something that's false? Or are they going to believe the truth, which is her statement that she put out." I've seen Tori. I've run into her a million times. We have hugged, we have laughed... She's never, like, walked away from me, and I've never walked away from her. We've always been happy to see one another. So, I never, ever, ever had a problem with Tori. This is just [someone] wanting to get publicity for the [reunion] show, and trying to cause problems and create controversy so the ratings are higher. That's their scam, and you know what? In the long run, it's like stupid.

TVGO: Did Tori make an attempt to get in touch with you and set the record straight when all these rumors were flying around?
Doherty: Yeah, we went back and forth about it. "Do we put out statements, do we not?" It was like, "Oh my God, this couldn't be further from the truth."

TVGO: But you didn't actually speak to Tori.
Doherty: No, I didn't speak to Tori personally, because what Tori's reasons are, are her reasons. And I support her reasons. But just talking about it gives it too much credit. It's not true. It was created by one specific person who wanted publicity for the show.

TVGO: Who is that?
Doherty: I'm not saying. Not going there.

TVGO: Hey, one last thing. UPN needs a new Slayer. Interested?
Doherty: (Laughs) I'm really enjoying my downtime. I'm very much enjoying not having to work Monday-Friday, 6 am-8 pm. I enjoy it immensely. I've learned in my life to never say never, but at this point, I couldn't imagine — unless it was something that absolutely blew me away.