Almost five years after the sudden death of Luke Perry, the late actor 90210 colleagues still feel a “hole” in their lives without him.
Shannen Doherty and Jason Priestley during Beverly Hills, 90210 panel at MegaCon Orlando on Saturday.
Doherty, 52, became visibly emotional on stage when Priestley, 54, mentioned Perry. After hearing his name, Enchanted the actress immediately burst into tears, first wiping her tears with her left hand before leaving her seat and grabbing a tissue to wipe away more tears.
“It was shocking,” said Doherty, whose 90210 character, Brenda, shared a romance with Dylan, played by Perry. “I have a very visceral reaction whenever someone mentions Luke because as someone with cancer – and really horrible stage four cancer – I thought I’d be the first to go. So when it was Luke, it really just sent me into a tizzy.”
Shannen Doherty and Jason Priestley on February 3.
Jen Juneau/PEOPLE
Doherty revealed to PEOPLE in 2015 that she had breast cancer, which went into remission in 2017 but returned in 2019 at stage 4. In a 2023 PEOPLE cover story, Doherty said the cancer had spread to her bones.
Onstage at MegaCon, Doherty explained that she and Perry were close while filming the ’90s teen drama, but admitted that “there were times we weren’t as close” in the years since the series ended in 2000.
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“But later we became extremely close,” she added. “So to lose him as our relationship was blossoming as friends and our respect and admiration for each other was reaching its full potential … was very difficult.”
After Perry’s death, Doherty appeared on Riverdalein which Perry played Archie’s father Fred, to be honored during the fourth season in 2019.
In the episode, Fred is hit by a car and dies after stopping to help a mysterious woman fix her flat tire. Doherty’s character later tells Fred’s son that she was the woman and that Fred died a hero after pushing her out of the way of the car.
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“I think it’s still hard for all of us, and when we do counters or any signings and we’re all there, Luke’s presence is missed,” she said at MegaCon. “There must be a hole.”
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Shannen Doherty and Jason Priestley at MegaCon Orlando.
Gerardo Mora/Getty
Meanwhile, Priestley reflected on Perry’s influence on 90120 honor.
“Luke was a big part of our show,” he said. “He was a total jokester. He came to work, always breaking the tension and making everyone laugh. But then he was also incredibly professional, always there and always committed to what he was doing.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Priestley called Perry “a guy with a big heart” ” with a special relationship with each of his costars.
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“We were all close as a group, but Luke was close to everyone within the group,” Priestley recalled. “He was incredibly kind and considerate and a lot of things that I think when people think of TV stars or movie stars or heartthrobs they wouldn’t put the two together.”
“He was beautiful,” he concluded. “We all miss him dearly, to this day.”
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