‘Melrose Place’ had a virtual reunion
Heather Locklear says she wants to play Amanda again
First ‘Hamilton’, then ‘The Goonies’ and now, ‘Melrose Place’.
Original cast members from the hit ‘90s soap opera are among the latest stars to stage a virtual reunion for a good cause amid the coronavirus crisis. On Tuesday, Josie Bissett, Thomas Calabro, Marcia Cross, Laura Leighton, Doug Savant, Grant Show, Andrew Shue, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Daphne Zuniga and Heather Locklear all reconnected via video chat for Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley’s web series, “Stars in the House,” benefiting the Actors Fund.
During the lengthy conversation, the old friends looked back on their time living in their fictional West Hollywood apartment complex, reminiscing about their favourite on- and off-screen moments, as well as answering questions submitted by fans. All were excited to see one another again, particularly gushing over Locklear, who rose to super-stardom as the headstrong Amanda Woodward.
“The one question I get from everybody anytime anybody talks about the show, they say, ‘Tell me what Heather’s like in real life,’” said Shue, aka Billy Campbell. “I’ll tell everybody who’s watching: She’s the sweetest, nicest, most professional, awesome person I know. We’re all glad to see you.”
The feeling was mutual for the ‘Too Close to Home’ actress, who gave a promising answer when asked by a fan about the possibility of reprising her popular ‘Melrose Place’ character in the future. Locklear previously returned to the role for a short-lived 2009 reboot of the series.
“Yeah, it’d be fun to play Amanda again,” she said, joking that she’s now old enough to remember “that first pandemic of 1918.”
The rest of the squad also reflected on their iconic roles, including Cross, who credited the show with giving her an outlet to process her feelings via her character, Kimberly Shaw, after losing her partner in 1993.
“I really had a place to let it all out,” she said. “[Kimberly] was grieving and upset ... and Marcia was having a hard time too, so it all kind of worked out beautifully.”
‘Melrose Place’ is one of several TV series that ‘Stars in the House’ co-hosts Rudetsky and Wesley have revisited in recent weeks, also reuniting the casts of ‘Frasier’, ‘Glee’, ‘Desperate Housewives’, ‘Taxi’ and more.
Fans of their quarantine-inspired programme, which streams new episodes daily, can donate to the Actors Fund’s coronavirus relief efforts by visiting starsinthehouse.com.