35 Shocking Secrets You Never Knew About Beverly Hills 90210 

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While most fans thought actress Tori Spelling only landed a role on the show thanks to nepotism, as her father Aaron Spelling was its producer, she actually auditioned for her part under a different name. She tried out for the role of socially awkward Andrea Zuckerman, but was given the role of fashionista Donna Martin. Even though her father was busy developing the show, he didn’t talk to her about it. Instead, she found out about auditions from her agent.

According to rumor, the creator of Beverly Hills 90210, Darren Star, toyed with the idea of an totally different title. It is thought he wanted to pay tribute to the place he grew up in Potomac, Maryland, and that the show even had the working title Potomac 20854 during development. Thankfully, he changed his mind as we can’t imagine the cult show being set anywhere else than Beverly Hills! But, at least one part of it was somewhere else. Find out why at #18.

Bad boy Dylan McKay was one of the most popular characters on Beverly Hills 90210, as we couldn’t get enough of his on-off relationship with Brenda. But, if it was up to Fox, Dylan would have only been in the show for two episodes! Thankfully, producer Aaron Spelling loved Luke Perry’s character so much that he said he’d pay his salary himself rather than sack him, and a 90s teen idol was born!

She was one of the most iconic members of the 90210 cast. After all, who can imagine Brenda being played by anyone else? But Shannen Doherty has revealed that she almost didn’t get the part of Brenda Walsh after she messed up her audition. The actress said that she did a “horrible” audition, walking out of the audition thinking she had totally blown it. But, despite that, the casting director came out and told her not to count herself out just yet.

This A-List Actress Was Sacked From 90210

Oscar winner Hilary Swank was due to appear in 90210 for two seasons playing the single mother Carly Reynolds. But, actually, her character was written out much before that, after only 16 episodes. While Swank said she was gutted, it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to her, as she went on to land the lead role in Boys Don’t Cry, winning an academy award for her portrayal of trans man Brandon Teena!

While it might seem as if Brenda, Brandon et al were a permanent fixture on our small screens for those of us who are 90s kids, no single cast member ever appeared in every single episode of the show. In fact only four of the main cast members – Donna Kelly, Kelly Taylor, David Silver and Steve Sanders – appeared in all 10 seasons of 90210. Our #16 was fired after four seasons

Considering that 90210 followed the lives of some of the most achingly attractive young people on the planet, it’s no surprise that the love scenes didn’t stay on screen. According to Jason Priestley, “various combinations” of people slept with each other during the years of filming. Tori Spelling later backed up his claims, saying she had a “summer fling” with one of her co-stars. Go on Tori, name names!

Actress Shannen Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh, had a reputation as the biggest diva on the show, apparently complaining when she got a normal taxi instead of a limo to take her to show promos. For years, she was involved in a feud with her co-star Jennie Garth, who played Kelly Taylor. Garth’s character took Doherty’s on-screen boyfriend Dylan McKay from her. The two are since thought to have managed to repair their friendship. Doherty was also known for her constant tardiness, frequently showing up late to set, angering producer Aaron Spelling.

When the pilot for Beverly Hills 90210 was shot, the father of twins Brandon and Brenda was played by Lyman Ward, who was then best known for playing the dad of Ferris Bueller in iconic 80s movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. But when it came to shooting the actual series, Jim Walsh was recast, with James Eckhouse given the part instead. All of Ward’s scenes were cut and then reshot with Eckhouse before the pilot went out on our screens.

When she won the role of 16-year-old Andrea Zuckerman, Gabrielle Carteris was actually 13 years older than her character, at 29. Rumor has it that she lied about her age to land the part, fearing creators wouldn’t give the role of a schoolgirl to someone who was almost reaching the Big 30. The storyline got a bit weird when Carteris became pregnant and producers decided they would have to write her pregnancy into the show to explain her growing waistline. She’s not the only one who lied about her age though. Look at #30!

Drew Barrymore or Alicia Silverstone Could Have Been in 90210

After Shannen Doherty’s high-profile firing from 90210, producers knew there was a Brenda-sized hole they would need to fill. They created the character of Valerie Malone, first offering the part to Alicia Silverstone, Drew Barrymore and Melrose Place actress Alyssa Milano. In the end, Tiffani Amber Thiessen took the part, much to the disgust of boyfriend Brian Austin Green (David Silver), who didn’t want her character to hook up with any of the male cast.

Dylan had a famously strained relationship with his dad, Jack McKay, who was finally played by Days of Our Lives actor Josh Taylor. But Taylor was actually the third person to play the part. Before him, both Harrison Ford’s brother Terence Ford and Independence Day actor Arthur Brooks played the part of the wealthy businessman with the criminal past. The character was eventually killed off in a car bomb after making up with his previously estranged son.

Geeky Scott Scanlon, played by Douglas Emerson, was best known as the voice of reason when best friend David Silver was scheming to become more popular. While producers wanted him to stay longer, they ended up killing Scanlon off as Emerson decided he wanted to quit acting to enrol in college, before joining the US Air Force. Scanlon was given a dramatic exit. He died in a gun accident at his own birthday party! But our #28 says his own exit was decidedly lacklustre!

While 90210 is now best known for focusing on the antics of Brendon, Brenda and their high school posse, the show actually started life as a family drama, based around the Walsh family. The first of the episodes focusing on high school life was screened in early 1991, on the very same day that every other network switched its usual programming to cover the Gulf War. Because Fox didn’t then have news shows, it went ahead with 90210, and show ratings soared.

While Aaron Spelling may not have been involved with getting his daughter Tori a part in 90210, he did exert his influence once she joined the cast. According to fellow producers, he demanded that her character Donna stayed a virgin until after she graduated from college. Not only that, but he had her abusive boyfriend Ray written out of the show before his contract ended when Donna started to take flak from fans of the show for staying with him.

While Shannen Doherty’s diva-esque behaviour is widely credited with getting her fired, the writer and producer Larry Mollin says the final straw was actually Doherty’s haircut. She cut her hair even though filming for the final episode of the season was still ongoing. That meant the continuity of the episode was totally thrown. She’s since admitted it was one of the reasons she was fired after season four, saying: “Rightfully, so!” But the real reason for her sacking could be revealed in #26!

The high school used for filming in Beverly Hills 90210 was Torrance High School in California. So when you see the cast members going through those arched doors or loitering in the courtyard, that’s where they were. It was also used as the school for outdoor scenes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Just imagine if Buffy had joined Brenda, Brandon and the crew. Surely even Brenda wouldn’t mess with Buffy!

The Walsh Family Didn’t Actually Live in Beverly Hills

Despite the title of the show, the Walsh family apparently didn’t live in Beverly Hills at all. The storyline centers around Brenda and Brandon feeling out of place after moving to Beverly Hills from Minneapolis. But, looking at the exterior shots of their home, it seems they were actually living in Altadena in California, around 30 miles away. We totally understand though. Altadena 91001 doesn’t have the same ring to it!

We can’t imagine 90210 without 90s pin-up Jason Priestley. But it turns out he was a very last-minute addition to the show. Everyone else had been cast except for the character of Brandon, when Jason read for the part. He auditioned in front of Aaron Spelling on a Thursday, was told he had the job the day after and then production started on Monday. Find out who was the first to be cast at #24.

No wonder Luke Perry spent most of his time squinting. Even though Beverly Hills is famed for its sunny weather, characters weren’t allowed to wear sunglasses. Aaron Spelling apparently hated his cast members wearing sunglasses, almost as much as he hated them changing their hair without telling him. According to his daughter Tori, he thought viewers should be able to look into characters’ eyes to see what they were feeling before they started to speak.

While the character of Valerie Malone was immediately meant to have a bad girl image, Tiffani Thiessen, who played her, had to have a hand double because she couldn’t roll a joint. She was meant to be shown smoking cannabis at the Walsh family home, but couldn’t manage to roll a joint with one hand, so someone else had to step in and do it before they cut back to Thiessen. Not such a bad girl in real life then!

The Cast Was Actually Shouting Something Much Ruder Than Their Lines!

While filming scenes in which Donna Martin’s classmates demand that she graduates alongside them, cast members were meant to be shouting “Donna Martin Graduates”. But Jason Priestley has since revealed that they were actually shouting “Donna Martin Masturbates”. In one of the most iconic shows of the season, Donna was finally allowed to graduate after being told she couldn’t because she got drunk at her prom.

If you watched 90210 while Kelly Taylor was involved in a love triangle, then you were either Team Brandon or Team Dylan. The bezzie mates battled it out for Kelly’s affections before she finally decided that Dylan was the man for her. But Perry still thinks she made the wrong choice. In an interview, he said Dylan was far too unstable for Kelly and that he should have “fallen on the sword” and let his best friend have her! Maybe he would have done, if #35 ever happened

Jennie Garth was the first member of the main cast to be, well, cast! But, she didn’t have it easy. Garth auditioned five times before she finally landed the part of Brenda’s best friend Kelly Taylor. Turns out it was fifth time lucky not just for Garth but for the show’s creators. Her sensitive handling of tricky subjects led to her becoming one of the most popular characters on 90210 and she was one of the few cast members to appear in all ten seasons of the show.

Turns out it’s not just rock n’ roll stars who trash their dressing room. Ian Ziering once had a rock n’ roll moment of his own when he lost it after many of his scenes ended up on the cutting room floor! In an episode where his character Steve Sanders was wrongly accused of rape, Ziering says he “brought game” but it never made it through to the final cut. Feeling betrayed by the show’s producers, he took his anger out on his dressing room.

Tori Spelling Could Have Got Shannen Doherty Fired?

While rumors have been rife for years about the reason Shannen Doherty was sacked after four seasons, Tori Spelling has since said she thinks it was her fault. Spelling says she told her father Aaron about what was going on behind the scenes. While Doherty has held her hands up and admitted to behaving badly, Spelling has since said she feels bad for being part of something which cost Doherty her job.

Luke Perry Could Have Played a Totally Different Character

While Luke Perry became one of the teen heartthrobs of the 90s because of his portrayal of bad boy Dylan, he originally went to audition for the part of rich brat Steve Sanders. But, the casting agents definitely got it right when they gave Ian Ziering the part of Sanders, who eventually showed his sensitive side, and Perry the part of Dylan, who… erm… eventually showed his sensitive side. Find out at #34 why Perry almost wasn’t in the show at all!

Priestley Didn’t Even Have a Farewell Party

Jason Priestley spent nine years of his life playing Brandon as well as being a producer and director on the series. But, despite that, he says his final day on the show was a complete anticlimax. After shooting his final scene, he hugged members of the crew, picked up a box of his stuff and simply drove off. Without a party, speeches or fanfare, he said he felt like he’d just wasted nearly a decade of his life! But could he have stayed longer? Find out why at #35.

Who didn’t want to hang out at The Peach Pit with the gang? This retro-themed bar became a favorite hangout for the whole gang after Dylan helped Brandon get a job there. According to executive producer Charles Rosin, it was actually based on a real life diner called The Apple Pan in West Los Angeles. While The Peach Pit may be purely fictional, The Apple Pan is still going strong and, according to musician Tori Amos, serves up the best burgers on the planet.

While he wasn’t the oldest member of a cast meant to be high school students (that honor goes to Andrea Zuckerman who was 29), Ian Ziering chose not to tell producers his real age when he auditioned for the part of 16-year-old Steve Sanders. As it happens, he was 28, but no one ever asked him. He later said that he simply thought: “If they’re going to buy it, I’m going to sell it!”. Well, he certainly sold it to us!

While Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty’s battles were legendary on set, it usually fell to Tori Spelling to act as peacemaker. Garth says Doherty was never afraid to spout forth her ideas for the show even if she sounded like a “total bitch,” with Spelling left to try, and usually fail, to smooth things over between the two warring co-stars. But, as Garth has pointed out, these things happen when you put three teenage girls into a pressured situation. They’ve since made up!

Now we thought the bromance between Priestley and Perry was made in heaven. But, it turns out there was an even better bromance going on behind the scenes. While Priestley was filming Beverly Hills 90210, he was sharing a house with Brad Pitt. We’re sure Pitt was okay about Priestley scooping such a high profile acting role though. At the time, he’d just got his own big break, as Geena Davis’ love interest in Thelma and Louise.

Even the Cast Members Didn’t Think It Was Going to Fly!

When Beverly Hills 90210 first aired, it wasn’t an immediate hit, and even the cast members thought the network would pull the plug. James Eckhouse, who played the Walsh patriarch says he and Priestley used to take bets with each other on when they would get the axe. Meanwhile, Zuckerman said she thought she’d have to get a waitressing job, while Ziering said the concept was too superficial. Turns out they were wrong. We loved them, no matter how superficial they were!

Luke Perry Almost Gave Up Acting Altogether!

Luke Perry was working as a construction worker when he went to read for the part of Steve Sanders. When he was told he wasn’t right for the role, he was so disheartened, he almost gave up acting altogether. But, execs soon realised that what was missing from 90210 was a dishy bad boy, and they called Perry back to play Dylan. The construction industry’s loss was definitely our gain!

90210 fans were gutted when heartthrob Jason Priestley decided not to reprise his role as Brandon after season nine. Creators were forced to write him out of the show, sending Brandon off into the big, bad world to pursue a career in journalism. But, it turns out Priestley himself wished he’d never left. He later said he thinks Spelling was pushing the storyline in a way which would have seen Brandon and Kelly end up together. Now that’s a happy-ever-after we’d love to have seen

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