Rose McGowan is opening up about her relationship with the late Shannen Doherty, or lack thereof. The Scream actress joined the cast of Charmed in place of Doherty, who left the series as Prue Halliwell in the Season 3 finale. While the two never worked together on the fantasy drama, they ended up becoming friends later in life, even attending comic conventions together.
McGowan revealed that she regretted not getting to know Doherty, who passed away from cancer in July, sooner. Via Us Weekly, McGowan appeared on Doherty’s Let’s Be Clear podcast which is continuing from her mother and inner circle in her memory. “If I have any regrets, I wish I could have gotten to know her sooner,” McGowan said of Doherty. “I don’t know how it would have happened, but I wish we could have.”
367898 Shannen Doherty from the tv show “Charmed” 1999 Paramount Pictures/Deliverd by: Online Usa, Inc.
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“We were really pitted against each other,” McGowan continued. “I was just told she was fired, and nobody talked about her.” After Prue was killed off, McGowan joined Charmed in Season 4 as Piper, Phoebe, and Prue’s half-sister Paige, a half-witch, half-white lighter. Even in the midst of the drama that followed Doherty’s exit, McGowan “refused to take the bait” when it came to bashing the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum. “They wanted me to start a war with her, and I was like, ‘Absolutely not. I will not start a war with her.’ And to her credit, she absolutely did not do that either.”
While Rose McGowan only got to know Shannen Doherty towards the end of her life, she shared how grateful she was to connect with her. “What a gift to be able to spend the last year and a half with her, really, really amazing gift.” Despite not spending too much time together before Doherty died, McGowan still seems to be as grateful as ever for the time she did get with her. Luckily, those memories will surely last a lifetime, as well as the stories.
Doherty was known to not have the best relationships with some former co-stars, notably Charmed‘s Alyssa Milano. Before her death, she even admitted she had a list of people she didn’t want at her funeral. It does sound like McGowan was able to spend a decent amount of time with Doherty before her death, which is really all that matters.