Holly Marie Combs broke down in tears in her first podcast since her Charmed co-star Shannen Doherty’s death.
The 50-year-old actress got emotional as she recounted one of her final encounters with her late friend and onscreen sister, who passed away on July 13 at the age of 53 after battling breast cancer.
In Monday’s episode of House of Halliwell, Combs and fellow castmates’ Brian Krause, 55, and Drew Fuller, 44, paid tribute to their beloved co-star, who had just joined them as a co-host for their Charmed rewatch podcast.
She shed tears while grieving Doherty after her unexpected passing — adding that was ‘one of the saddest parts to me’ as their late co-star was ‘really looking forward to this.’
She said they all believed Doherty ‘had more time’ in the episode, which was released just days after she shared a touching tribute to the late Beverly Hills, 90210 actress and said her friend had ‘promised to haunt me’ if she died.
Holly Marie Combs broke down in tears in her first podcast since her Charmed co-star Shannen Doherty’s death; Combs seen in August 2016
The 50-year-old actress got emotional as she recounted one of her final encounters with her late friend and onscreen sister, who passed away on July 13 at the age of 53 after battling breast cancer; Doherty seen in October 2019
In Monday’s episode of House of Halliwell, Combs and fellow castmates’ Brian Krause, 55, and Drew Fuller, 44, paid tribute to their beloved co-star, who had just joined them as a co-host for their Charmed rewatch podcast; seen in December 2019
During the heartbreaking episode dedicated to Doherty, Krause began: ‘I don’t wanna say this is a special episode because that doesn’t feel right. This is a tribute to someone we all love very much.’
Combs recalled how excited her friend was about their Charmed rewatch podcast.
In an emotional conversation with her co-hosts, she said she had recently met up with the late actress to rewatch the TV series, in which they starred as two of three witch sisters for three seasons from 1998 to 2001.
‘One of the last times I was with her, we actually watched the first two episodes together like we were freaking teenagers again,’ Combs added. ‘And we sat in her office and watched the episodes together before we recorded this.’
‘And I’ve had a little bit of time to reflect on that, and everything worked out.’
She appeared to be fighting back tears as she revealed that neither they nor Doherty herself expected for her to succumb to her long battle with cancer.
‘I’ve had a little bit of time to reflect on that and how everything worked out,’ she said.
‘I think she did as much as she could in the time that she had, but we did think we had more time,’ she continued.
‘And that’s the really sad part is, you know, we had big, big plans for this year. And she didn’t think she was going anywhere anytime soon.’
Combs recalled how excited her friend was about their Charmed rewatch podcast
During the heartbreaking episode dedicated to Doherty, Krause began: ‘I don’t wanna say this is a special episode because that doesn’t feel right. This is a tribute to someone we all love very much.’ Combs recalled how excited her friend was about their Charmed rewatch podcast; seen in June 2019
In an emotional conversation with her co-hosts, Combs said she had recently met up with the late actress to rewatch the TV series, in which they starred as two of three witch sisters for three seasons from 1998 to 2001
Combs added that they thought they ‘had more time’ with their friend and said Doherty ‘didn’t think she was going anywhere anytime soon’
The trio remembered their friend and co-star as ‘amazing presence’ with a ‘superpower’ and ‘incredible ability’ to make others ‘forget’ that she was battling a terminal disease
‘It sounds terribly cliché … until it happens to you, you always think you have more time,’ Combs said while holding back tears. ‘Life changes on a dime.’
Combs also opened up about her onscreen sister’s ‘enthusiasm for life’ and recounted how passionate she was about Charmed.
Just days before Doherty’s death, it was announced that she would be joining Combs, Krause and Fuller as a co-host for the House of Halliwell podcast on July 8.
She said Doherty was looking forward to rewatching their show with ‘fresh eyes’ and ‘like a fan.’
‘I don’t think anybody loved Charmed more than she did,’ she said. ‘And that’s a fact.’
On Charmed, Doherty played Prue Halliwell, the older sister to Combs and Alyssa Milano’s characters Piper and Phoebe Halliwell, on the first three seasons of Charmed.
After Doherty left the series after season three in 2001, Rose McGowan joined, playing the role of Paige, a long-lost half-sibling of the Halliwell sisters, for the following season.
Charmed continued for another five seasons with Combs, Milano and McGowan.
Doherty was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 but went into remission two years later; in 2020, she revealed that the cancer had returned and was now stage IV.
The trio remembered their friend and co-star as ‘amazing presence’ with a ‘superpower’ and ‘incredible ability’ to make others ‘forget’ that she was battling a terminal disease; seen in June 2019
Combs also opened up about her onscreen sister’s ‘enthusiasm for life’ and recounted how passionate she was about Charmed. Doherty played Prue Halliwell, the older sister to Combs and Alyssa Milano ‘s characters Piper and Phoebe Halliwell, on the first three seasons of Charmed
Doherty was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 but went into remission two years later; in 2020, she revealed that the cancer had returned and was now stage IV; seen in October 2019
Despite her diagnosis, she was planning to build a house in Tennessee and move to Italy.
Fuller, who played Chris Halliwell, Combs’ son on the show, said on the tribute episode that he rushed back home from Italy after learning of Doherty’s passing.
‘She’s probably laughing at all of us right now being super sad,’ Combs said. ‘There’s a degree of sadness she does want. She wants a proper amount of mourning and crying.
‘Drew raced back from Italy and she’s definitely laughing at him panicking and getting on a plane for her,’ she added.
The trio remembered their friend and co-star as ‘amazing presence’ with a ‘superpower’ and ‘incredible ability’ to make others ‘forget’ that she was battling a terminal disease.
‘She just wanted to do so much more than her body was able to let her do,’ Combs said. ‘And I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with such an enthusiasm for life … and she just wanted to do more and more things … and nobody throws a dinner party like Shannen.’
Combs said Doherty was looking forward to rewatching their show with ‘fresh eyes’ and ‘like a fan.’ ‘I don’t think anybody loved Charmed more than she did,’ she said. ‘And that’s a fact.’
After Doherty left the series after season three in 2001, Rose McGowan joined, playing the role of Paige, a long-lost half-sibling of the Halliwell sisters, for the following season
The trio previously revealed they would be releasing five posthumous episodes still featuring Doherty, which she had recorded with them prior to her passing.
An episode description for the July 15 episode read: ‘Only days ago, the “House of Halliwell” podcast announced Shannen Doherty was joining her castmates … to relive the magic that was “Charmed.”
‘This show, this character, this podcast meant so much to Shannen she couldn’t wait to share it with Charmed fans everywhere,’ it read.
‘We want to honor her memory, and fulfill Shannen’s wishes by airing the first five episodes she recorded before her passing. She was passionate about this project and proud to have played Prue Halliwell, we hope these episodes offer some comfort for everyone who loved her.’
