Tori Spelling, best known for playing Donna Martin on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” and later competing as a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars,” is pulling back the curtain on a little-known rule from the iconic teen drama’s set. During a recent podcast conversation, Spelling revealed that her father, legendary producer Aaron Spelling, kept a surprisingly close eye on the cast’s appearance, especially when it came to hair changes. Sometimes he even required them to be written into the script.
Hair Played a Big Role
On a recent episode of the 90210MG podcast, which Spelling cohosts with Jennie Garth, who played Kelly Taylor on the FOX series, it was noted that hair played a big role in season 8, episode 11. In this particular episode, Kelly appears with a noticeably shorter pixie cut.
When talking about that look, Garth said, “You know what I felt like? I felt like she (Kelly) belonged in, like, New Kids on the Block or a boy band with that haircut.” She added, “Did she not look like Lance Bass to you?”
While Spelling said she thought it looked “really good,” she added, “But you know what? So my dad had this thing, I think we’ve talked about this before, where anytime hair was altered on the show, usually had to get permission, probably not eighth season, I’m sure you didn’t have to, but they had to write it in the script.”
Spelling went on, asking, “I wonder why that bugged him so much, though. Why is that a thing?”
Garth did note that it was worked into the script, as her hair was mentioned in the first line of the episode, “The first line is Erica saying, ‘Does Brandon like your new haircut?'”
Other Aaron Spelling Rules
It seems like Aaron Spelling had his hand on other things that were happening on the show. Donna famously remained a virgin on the show for so long, PEOPLE previously reported. Tori Spelling previously talked about her father being the reason for this.
In a previous episode of the podcast, Spelling spoke with “90210” producer and writer Charles Rosin. He said the decision to keep Donna a virgin was “absolutely” handed down by Aaron.
Spelling said, “I never knew where it came from. I always suspected, and people say, like, ‘He kept his daughter virgin.’”
While it came from Aaron, Rosin made sure to state that the “entire writing staff” was on board with the idea. They felt it helped Donna’s character stand out from the rest of the group.
