Photo:Diane Freed
Diane Freed
Tori Spellingis still learning new things about herBeverly Hills, 90210character, Donna Martin.
On the latest episode of9021OMGpodcast – which Spelling cohosts withJennie Garth, who played Kelly Taylor on the Fox series – the 50-year-old actress chatted with90210producer and writer Charles Rosin about the reason Donna famously remained a virgin for so long.
It turns out that her fatherAaron Spelling, a producer on the show, was undoubtedly the driving force behind that character decision. The actress said she’d “always suspected” that it was her dad’s idea, but didn’t know for sure until now.
Tori Spelling.Alamy/Dana Fineman
Alamy/Dana Fineman
“I remember very clearly when he said to me, you know, that Donna should be a virgin,” Rosin recalled of Aaron. “And it was like, ‘Yes, absolutely she should.’”
Tori said Donna being a virgin certainly wasn’t something she came up with for her character. When she asked Rosin if it was “literally” her late dad’s idea, he answered unequivocally, “Oh, absolutely.”
“I never knew where it came from,” Spelling said of the decision. “I always suspected, and people say, like, ‘He kept his daughter virgin.’”
Rosin said the “entire writing staff” was immediately on board with the idea because it helped Donna’s character stand out from the rest of the group.
“We just went, ‘Oh, yeah, that makes perfect sense!’” he explained. “Because we were able now to differentiate you.”
“You would be dressed, you know, provocatively, stylishly – but it didn’t matter,” he added, referring to Donna’s wardrobe. “Because certainly, if you were, for whatever reason, a virgin at that point, you could dress like that…You could blend in, but not actually be ‘doing the deed’ as it were.”
Tori Spelling and Vincent Young.Alamy/Dana Fineman
Donna lost her virginity to her long-time boyfriend David (Brian Austin Green) on her last night of college in season 7. It was a sharp contrast to the rest of the characters, most of whom had their first times early on in the show. For instance, Brenda (Shannen Doherty) lost her virginity to her boyfriend Dylan (Luke Perry) at prom back in season 1 while Brenda’s twin brother Brandon (Jason Priestley) had his first time just four episodes into the show.
This isn’t the first time Spelling has stated that it was her father’s idea for Donna to remain a virgin. In her 2008 memoirsTORI TELLING, she discussed the storyline and claimed her father had no idea most of the90210castwas hooking up with each other. “It was pretty intense,” she toldABC Newsin 2008.
Tori Spelling.David Livingston/FilmMagic
In an 2013 interview withVulture, Spelling shared why she thought the show waited for so long with Donna’s first time. “I think she stayed a virgin because once we established that she was a fan favorite, people really started relating to her,” she explained. “Teens constantly would approach me and tell me that they were virgins and they had times where they were scared that being a virgin would make them seem uncool, but then Donna made it okay.”
“We knew it was inevitable,” Spelling toldVulture. “I think at one point I jokingly said, ‘Come on, Dad. It’s time.’”
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Beverly Hills, 90210is available to stream on Hulu and Paramount+.
source: people.com
