If you were a “Saved By The Bell” fan, then you know about the love affair between Kelly Kapowski and Zack Morris, and the famous fight between A.C. Slater and Jessie Spano. As it turns out, all of them had secrets to hide while working on the set of Saved By The Bell, but now they have all been revealed!
Years and a lot of water under the bridge make it so the castmates are happy to reveal things that we as viewers never knew about the show and what went on behind the scenes. We always thought it was wholesome and sweet, when it was far from it in most cases. A lot happens on the set where teens are in charge of the show, and we are not finally getting the details! Check out these amazing 25 “Saved by the Bell” secrets.
On The Fast Track To Womanhood
Tiffani Amber Thiessen started dating a 19-year-old guy when she was only 14! She also moved out of her parent’s house when she was just 17!
It made total sense that she made a quick jump into modeling gigs right around the time she was working on the set of Saved By The Bell. It is easy to grow up fast in Hollywood and that is exactly what Tiffani did.
Secrets Out!
During the show, Mario Lopez was accused of date rape. Not something he wanted on his record, that's for sure.
The case was eventually dropped and settled out of court. Dustin Diamond claims in his tell-all book that NBC paid the victim $50,000 not to talk.
Real Life Romance
Lark Voorhies & Mark-Paul Gosselaar dated in real life. During filming Zack and Lisa were just friends, but off-screen the two were lovebirds and even had a 3-year relationship!
No one saw this one coming, but it pleased fans quite a bit when they finally found out.
Pumped Up
Although there’s no way to prove this is true, there was a big change in Zack’s physique, which speaks for itself. As you can see here in this College Years cast-photo, Zach Morris even more buff than Slater.
Blondes Have More Fun
Mark-Paul Gosselaar aka Zach, is a natural brunette! He had to dye his hair blonde every two weeks during filming of “Saved By The Bell!”
It really goes to show here just how much detail is put into these characters to make the audience believe that Zach Morris really is an outgoing chatter-box that's always concerned with how to have the most fun.
Role Swap
However, producers loved Lark Voorhies so much that they changed the part so she could play it.
Screetch Wasn't Liked By His Castmates
No one in the cast liked Dustin Diamond, and they still don’t to this day. It is not something they hide at all and we can understand why.
Many say that the tell-all book he wrote in 2010 was filled with exaggerated and false stories. This did not endear him much.
The Real Deal With Tori Scott
The network decided to add a new character Tori Scott to take their place, played by Leanna Creel.
Love At First Sight
Mark-Paul Gosselaar met his first wife on set! She was an extra. He remarried Catriona McGinn, and now they have a son together, Dekker Edward.
The couple is seen on red carpets together, but there are always rumors that there is trouble in paradise.
Special Treatment
Elizabeth Berkley wanted the role of Kelly Kapowski, but the producers preferred Tiffani Amber Thiessen.
After the producers decided that they still really liked Elizabeth, they wrote the part of Jessie Spano specifically for her.
This Duo Were In Every Episode!
They were a duo that were liked together on screen for their comedic skills and the chemistry as on screen friends.
College Paid Off
However, the series raked in an average of 7.2 million viewers a week making it the 2nd highest rated comedy on NBC.
Familiar Steps
The school set used to shoot “Saved by the Bell” has also been used in the famous Disney series “That’s So Raven” and Nickelodeon’s “iCarly.”
So if the school looked familiar to you on another show, it makes total sense. The sets are often reused when they are vacant.
Bff’s Forever!
Zack and Slater were intended to fight for Kelly’s love on the show, but Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Mario Lopez had such a Bromance off screen that the SBTB writers decided to keep them as BFFs!
These two are still involved in each others lives and remain close as they grow their respective families and work in Hollywood on various projects.
The Cast Hit The Main Stage
The cast did test their musical abilities in the rockumentary fantasy episode where they formed a band called Zack Attack!
Same Classroom, Different Scenes
In Bayside High School there was only one classroom, and it was rearranged for different scenes and class subjects.
If you take a close look throughout the episodes, you may notice that some projects on the wall have remained even though the kids are supposed to be in a completely different classroom...
Kung Fu Fighting
One of Mr. Belding’s degrees hanging on the wall of his office is a degree in Kung Fu!
No one thought for one moment that Mr. Belding knew how to perform any version of martial arts, but it seemed to be a running joke anyway.
The Youngest Of The Cast
When Engel hired Dustin Diamond, he didn’t realize he was so much younger than the rest of the actors.
He was only 11, three years younger than everybody else! That explains why he did what he did after the show, it is hard growing up in the spotlight normally.
Work Came First
Lark Voorhies sacrificed going to her prom and graduation because she was busy filming the show.
Lark's priorities were her work and fame through and through. This mattered to her more than her real life high school experience.
First Time For Everything
Tiffani Thiessen’s first time drinking alcohol was with Mark-Paul Gosselaar when they were in Paris for a press tour.
Growing up in Hollywood means you grow up fast and are exposed to many more things earlier in your life. Tiffani was no different.
Lots Of Dating
Almost all of the cast dated off-screen and Peter Engel said that it was terrible because when they broke up, they still had to act in love on-screen.
What else would you expect from a group of teens who share a lot of time together. At least they were not dramatic over their breakup.
The Beach Club “90210”
Malibu Sands is the beach club where the gang worked for the summer in Santa Monica, and it was the same beach club used in “Beverly Hills 90210.”
The school was one spot where things were done on another show, now the beach was a second location. If it looked familiar to you, then you probably saw it on another show.
The New Class Had A Great Run
Many have referred to “Saved by the Bell: The New Class” as a failure, but it actually ran three years longer than the original “Saved by the Bell!”
That being said, it did not gain the amount of cult following that the original show did, which explains why you thought that.
More Viewers
This was a show teens and their families followed for years, watching these teens grow up and go through what we all did at one point or another.
More Teenage Girl Viewers
After Saved by the Bell (1989) had already been on television for around four weeks, the network did their homework.
NBC conducted research which showed that fifty percent of teenage girls in the United States were watching the show regularly.
Change Of Scenery
The original series “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” on The Disney Channel was set in Indianapolis. It showed Zack, Screech, Lisa and the other characters in middle school.
But when Zack and the gang moved to NBC and on to high school in “Saved by the Bell,” they relocated to sunny Pacific Palisades, California without any explanation.
Tori Was Named After Tori
It was good for Tori that her dad was Aaron Spelling, otherwise it is likely that she would not have broken into the acting business.
Nerd Names
You may or may not have noticed, but the nerd characters usually had a last name that contained the word “nerd” or some synonym of it.
Examples included Nerdstrom, Poindexter, Geekman, etc. These were more important than you probably thought.
Cameo Appearances
Scott Wolf and Denise Richards made cameo appearances on the show before making it to stardom. Tori Spelling (Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), who is also the producer’s daughter.
She made an appearance as a recurring character named Violet Bickerstaff – who was Screech’s love interest.
Official First Kiss
Both Dustin Diamond (Screech Powers) and Tori Spelling (Violet Bickerstaff) shared their first on-screen kiss while on the show.
Neither one of the actors talks about this kiss or each other as they do not speak outside of this acting job. Tori does not talk to Dustin, especially because of recent events.
Only Bedroom
You probably never noticed it but, Slater’s bedroom was the only bedroom we never saw.
Do you think there was a reason Slater's room was never shown? It is rumored that he had difficulty finding a place for himself.
Working Together
They were very different women, so it is indeed a surprise that they were written to have share a common activity and job at the same place.
Broadway Legend
Gary Beach, a Broadway legend had a role in the one episode as “Gem Diamond”, a huckster who tries to rip-off the gang with fake class rings.
Every episode had a theme or a lesson, this one was no different and so Gem Diamond was a lesson for the kids as much as it was for the viewer.
Slater’s First Name
It was never really mentioned but Slater’s first name, A.C., stands for Albert Clifford.
With a name like that we do understand why he kept it to himself as he had a sort of facade he wanted to keep with his cool vibe.
Paul Verhoeven Onwards
Three actors who appeared in this show continued on to star in films directed by Paul Verhoeven.
Main cast member, Elizabeth Berkley, starred in Verhoeven’s Showgirls (1995), while other guest stars like Denise Richards, Casper Van Dien and Patrick Muldoon all appeared in Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers (1997).
Jimmy Fallon Joins The Cast
Everyone was present except for two cast members of the Saved By The Bell group were noticeably absent – Screech and Lisa.
Why Were They Absent?
In December 2014, Diamond (Screech) was arrested and charged with “second-degree recklessly endangering safety, disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon.”
Legal ramifications took their toll on his schedule and prevented him from agreeing to appear in any Saved By The Bell reunions — at least until the case is resolved. Lisa, on the other hand, made headlines in 2012 when it was announced that she was battling bipolar disorder. Since then, she has largely stayed out of the public eye altogether.
Turtle Confusion
Lisa’s last name is Turtle, Jessie’s middle name is Myrtle, and Zack’s pet turtle’s name is Myrtle.
The name game here did indeed make it a confusing case for people in the show and for viewers as well. However, it was done on purpose.
Casper Van Dien
He has just one line in one episode and is often seen just as a simple background extra, mostly in hallway scenes by the lockers.
Famous SBTB Hopefulls
Could you imagine Saved by the Bell with anyone other than who ended up on it? We could not either. There were other opportunities for the hopefulls.
No Potty Mouths Allowed
Swearing was banned on the set of “Saved By The Bell.”
Producer Peter Engel wanted to keep the vibes innocent so he forbid all cast members to swear while they were on the set of the teen series!
Screech Accused Of Murder...WHAT!
In 2014, Dustin Diamond was arrested after an altercation at a bar.
He was found carrying a weapon during a fight where someone got stabbed. He was placed in jail and spent four months there before being released and finding his way back there again later.