Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry shared a “special kind of love” within their friendship long after Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed

Following the death of Shannen Doherty on Saturday, July 13, one cannot help but think of her time on the hit series “Beverly Hills, 90210” and her chemistry with Luke Perry.

The two former co-stars, who played Brenda Walsh and Dylan McKay respectively, were not only work colleagues but also longtime friends who remained close until Perry’s death in March 2019 at the age of 53 following a stroke.

In the short time since her death, which was confirmed by her longtime press agent Leslie Sloane, numerous fans as well as friends and colleagues sounded warm as they reflected on their continued closeness and friendship over the years.

Gabrielle Carteris, who played Andrea in the cult series, summed up the feelings in her tribute with the words, “I know Luke is there with open arms to love you,” as reported by People.

Just last February, Doherty became emotional as she recounted the moment she learned of Perry’s death during a panel discussion at MegaCon Orlando.

“It was a shock,” Doherty said of the loss of her former co-star and friend. “I get very emotional when someone mentions Luke because as a cancer patient – and a really bad stage four cancer – I thought I would be the first to go. When it was Luke, it really threw me completely.”

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Doherty was heartbroken over his loss, but finally found the strength to pay tribute to Perry on social media the day after his death.

“Yesterday morning I received a call that devastated me,” she began the caption, with obvious emotion in her words. “I am struggling with this loss and am having a hard time sorting out my thoughts. But my heart goes out to his family and friends who were blessed by his light in their lives (and mine). Processing this is impossible right now.”

It turned out that she and Perry wanted to create new screen magic together and were trying to find the right production to collaborate with.

“There’s a special kind of love that you feel for each other when you experience the journey that we’ve been on 90210 and of course life in general,” Doherty said, before revealing, “Luke and I have been working on show ideas for ourselves. We wanted to work together again and create something special and meaningful for our fans at this time in our lives.”

She added: “I will miss him every day. Every minute. Every second.”

In the same interview with People in 2019, the Memphis, Tennessee native revealed that the last time she saw Luke Perry was when they “met for lunch,” just weeks before his death.

“I walked in and there he was, smiling, with his dog Penny and their bed under the booth, as happy as could be,” she recalled. “I’ll never forget – and miss – Luke looking at me with that smile and saying… ‘Shan.'”

While participating in a 90210 panel at RewindCon Chicago just weeks before his death in 2019, Perry sang Doherty’s praises, telling the audience, “None of us are up here today without Shannen.”

He continued, “In fact, she was very instrumental in the success of the program. She taught me a lot and I’m really glad she was there for me as a scene partner.”

Even after their cancer diagnosis, they got back in touch and “carried on, albeit older and wiser, but the connection remained.”

She described him as a “smart, quiet, humble and complex man with a heart of gold and a never-ending source of integrity and love.”

Doherty starred in the first four seasons of Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-1994), one of the defining television series of the 1990s. Perry appeared in the first six seasons and then returned for the tenth and final season in 2000.

Doherty was also part of the original cast that returned for the reboot of BH90210, which ultimately ran for one season of six episodes.

The former “Charmed” actress was diagnosed with breast cancer with multiple tumors in 2015. Her breast was removed in May 2016. This was followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy because the cancer was more advanced than previously thought.

In 2017, Doherty went public and announced that her cancer was in remission.

But in February 2020, she announced that the cancer had returned the previous year and that she was now in stage four.

After expressing her “fear,” Doherty had a tumor removed from her head after a CT scan revealed that the cancer cells had spread from their original location into the brain.

“I’m fighting for my life every day,” Doherty said, before clarifying, “I think I’m doing really great.”

In a statement from Doherty’s press secretary the day after her death, USA todaySloane said the actress had “lost her battle with cancer after battling the disease for many years.”

She continued: “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones and her dog Bowie. The family requests privacy so she can grieve in peace.”