When ratings stagnated, producer Aaron Spelling, who had previously worked with Heather on ‘Dynasty’ and ‘T.J. Hooker’, cast her in an attempt to boost interest in the series.

Aaron, who had referred to Heather as his ‘lucky penny,’ initially brought her in for a short guest arc.

The actress also recalled receiving a call from her manager about the role, on Melrose, adding: ‘I go, “Of course. Yeah. That’d be fun”.

‘I just said, “I wanna be a businesswoman. I don’t wanna be Sammy Jo from Dynasty. I don’t wanna, like, be a quirky girl”.’

Her Melrose character, advertising executive Amanda Woodward, made her debut in a January 1993 episode.

The show’s ratings improved significantly, and Fox subsequently ordered 10 additional episodes for the first season. Heather was then promoted to a main cast member for season two of the show, and her Amanda character quickly became a central antagonist, cementing the actress as one of the show’s breakout stars.

Heather Locklear stuns fans with youthful look amid rare appearance

Heather Locklear was a staple of ’80s and ’90s TV, having starred in Dynasty, Melrose Place and Spin City with Michael J. Fox

eather Locklear stunned fans on Sunday when she made a rare appearance on the What Do You Want? podcast with her close friend, Jillian Barberie, and Nurse Mel from the wellness company Twelve28. The Melrose Place alum looked ageless in a photo shared to Instagram capturing her time on the podcast, where she sported a strapless white sundress and bare feet. Heather wore her blonde locks out in beachy waves and grinned widely as she sat with her friends in the podcast studio.

“Hello everyone! We have a brand new podcast page! @wdywpodcast,” the stars wrote in the caption. “Our other one got hacked! Starting fresh! Please follow this page going forward. We have a release date! We will announce the date on next post! Can’t wait!” Fans rushed to the comment section to exclaim over Heather’s glowing appearance, with one writing, “You do not age Heather!!” while another added, “Heather looks amazing.”

Another fan chimed in, “Heather…Holy Moly!!! You look absolutely amazing. I’ll have what you’re having!!!!!!” while a fourth said, “Heather looks gorgeous.” The 63-year-old was a Hollywood staple before joining the cast of Melrose Place in 1993 as the advertising executive Amanda Woodward, a role that garnered her four Golden Globe nominations. After leaving the show in 1999, she returned briefly ten years later as a guest star.

Speaking on the Still the Place podcast with her former co-stars, Daphne Zuniga, Laura Leighton and Courtney Thorne-Smith, Heather shared that she initially believed herself to be too old to appear in Melrose Place. “I watched the show because there was so much press on it,” the mother of one recalled. “And I was going, ‘Oh my God, this show is gonna be great…and I wish I could be on it, but I’m too old.'”

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“I was, like, 30. Or almost 30 or something like that,” she continued. “And you guys were all 20, early 20s.” The series followed a group of young people living in an apartment complex in West Hollywood. Series creator Aaron Spelling sought Heather’s help to boost ratings later on in the first season, which worked like a charm. After asking her to join the show for a four-episode arc, the blonde beauty readily accepted, with the condition that her character be a businesswoman.

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While Heather has experienced several career highs, her personal life has been less than perfect. She struggled with alcohol in the past, and was even arrested for police battery in 2018. Since then, the star has worked hard on her sobriety journey, and her friends have been nothing but supportive throughout.

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Jillian, whom Heather met on the set of Melrose Place, shared an update on her friend in 2019 after the actress checked herself into a rehab facility. “I spoke to her today. She’s doing great,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “Every day, she’s in great spirits. She’s funny, she just has the best sense of humor. On Monday, she went to the facility. And for her, she’s like, ‘Checking into the Four Seasons,’ as a joke, and she sent us a picture of the facility.”

© Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via G

“She knows what she’s got to do, and she’s doing it,” Jillian continued. “She’s healthy and happy, sober, and is just in a really good place right now. It’s time for her to concentrate on [herself]. I think that’s exactly what she’s doing.”