Shannen Doherty on tell-all memoirs, leaving ‘90210’ and being a Shatner fan

TORONTO – Jason Priestley wrote about fellow “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum Shannen Doherty in his tell-all memoir, but don’t expect her to do the same.

Doherty, who will attend Toronto ComiCon this weekend, admits she “lived too publicly” in her 20s and now enjoys a “very private” life.

As such, she wouldn’t want to spill details about her family members, friends or co-stars in book form, says the actress.

“I’ve always felt that memoirs should be about yourself and not about others, because personally I just find it to be rude to write bad things about other people,” says Doherty, 43, in a telephone interview.

“But that goes to an old saying that my mom raised me with, which is, ‘If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.’

“I always think, ‘Even if I worked with someone, I have no idea what they were personally going through during that time period, so who am I to judge someone else?'”

Doherty adds that she’s always viewed a TV or film set as “as a very, very, very, private sanctuary.”

“I take that Vegas phrase, ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’ and I apply it to a set. Not everybody does, and that’s fine.”

In last year’s “Jason Priestley: A Memoir,” the Vancouver-born actor-director writes of some diva-type behaviour from Doherty during their days on “Beverly Hills, 90210” in the ’90s.

Doherty says she hasn’t read the book, but notes that Priestley recently reached out to her to make amends and she wishes him the best: “I adore him, I think he’s great, I think he’s talented.”

Toronto ComiCon runs Friday through Sunday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The star lineup also includes Chad Coleman of “The Walking Dead,” Karen Gillan of “Guardians of the Galaxy” and Morena Baccarin of “Firefly,” “Stargate SG-1” and “Homeland.”

Doherty will then appear at Fan Expo Vancouver (April 3-5) and Fan Expo Regina (April 25-26).

She says she’s seen several fans of her “Charmed” TV series at such conventions with the show’s symbol tattooed on their bodies.

She’s also seen a fan with a back tattoo of her face.

“I was like, ‘Wow, thank God they got it while I still looked really good,'” Doherty says with a laugh.

She herself turned into a fervent fan at a convention in Australia once, when she saw Canadian William Shatner.

“I was like, ‘No way, no way, William Shatner that is so cool!’ and I went over and I introduced myself to him, and then I butted in his line of a million people. I jumped in and took a photo with him.

“And now he tweets me. I can never get over it when William Shatner tweets me.”

Doherty’s latest projects include the new road trip reality series “Off the Map,” with “Charmed” co-star Holly Marie Combs.

She says she would like to star on a scripted TV series again, but it would have to be a role she could stand to play for several years — unlike her character Brenda Walsh from “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

“When Brenda changed and became sort of bratty, I started hating her,” says Doherty.

“I was miserable playing her after a while. I was like, ‘God, there’s just so much angst and drama in this girl’s life.'”

Doherty left “Beverly Hills, 90210” after the fourth season.

When asked if it was a mutual decision between her and creator Aaron Spelling, she says: “Yes and no.”

“I think I had expressed a desire (to leave), but whenever somebody agrees, you’re kind of shocked for a minute and go: ‘Oh, OK. What did I just do? Did I really express that and you really agreed to it?'” Doherty says with a laugh.

“You have this moment of regret. You have a moment of like, ‘Oh, crap, I don’t know if that was really the best thing that I could have done, I don’t know if that was the best thing for my career.’

“But career, life, whatever it is, everything happens for a reason and adversity makes us stronger, I honestly believe that. And Mr. Spelling and I went on to work together some more, so that’s good.”