Saved by the Bell was a US television sitcom beloved by many, with the show following group of high school friends and their principal – first airing in 1989.
It saw charming student Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and his friends at Bayside High School find themselves in hilarious situations, as they navigated their teenage years.
The light-hearted comedy had many giggle-inducing moments, while also covering some more hard-hitting and serious subjects like drug use and women’s rights.
Tiffani Thiessen, Dustin Diamond, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Lark Voorhies and Leanna Creel starred as Zack’s pals and classmates, with Dennis Haskins appearing as the school’s principal Mr. Belding.
So what has happened to the much-adored cast over three decades since the show first aired?
From sex tapes, drug addiction and cheating, here’s what happened to the Saved by the Bell cast.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack Morris)
Mark-Paul played leader of the pack, Zack (Image: Barcroft, Rex)
Mark-Paul played Zack, who was certainly the leader of the pack as the cheeky character got up to plenty of mischief with his school friends.
A tell-all book saw executive producer Peter Engel confirm a real life love triangle occurred while filming the show.
He claimed that Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, who played Kelly Kapowski, dated both Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zac Morris) and Mario Lopez (A.C. Slater).
The producer claimed that she only got with Mark-Paul after they split on SBTB, before moving on to Mario in 1991.
Peter said in the book: “They made it very clear that they were now in a relationship — holding hands, being cutesy…
“But she ended their relationship after she caught him CHEATING during a live taping.
“He was in his dressing room, making out with an extra, and Tiffani came in, catching him red-handed.”
Tiffani Thiessen (Kelly Kapowski)
Tiffani played Zack’s love interest Kelly Kapowski (Image: WENN)
Tiffani played Zack’s love interest Kelly Kapowski in the first run of SBTB, with the actress going on to star in some major TV roles.
She’s best known for playing Valerie Malone on Beverly Hills, 90210.
However, she wasn’t invited back for the Saved by the Bell reboot.
The hotly-anticipated comeback will reportedly include OG cast members Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley and Mark-Paul Gosselaar reprising their memorable roles of A.C. Slater, Jesse Spano and Zack Morris.
However, Tiffani has reportedly not been included in the reboot, as well as Dustin Diamond, who played Screech on the original show, and Lark Voorhies who played the role of Lisa Turtle.
Dustin Diamond (Samuel “Screech” Powers)
Dustin got his big break on Saved by the Bell when he was just 12 (Image: Rex)
Dustin got his big break on Saved by the Bell when he was just 12 and after the series came to an end, Diamond stuck with comedy, beginning a career in stand-up.
However, his stardom turned to infamy after Diamond self-directed a sex tape back in 2006. Dustin seemingly featured in the X-rated film titled Screech: Saved by the Smell, with the actor shown having a threesome with two women.
In 2009, the actor denied he was in the sex tape, saying in a 2009 airing of Where Are They Now? that the scenes in which he appeared nude were played by a stunt double.
That same year he also published a book titled Behind the Bell, which was a alleged ‘tell-all’ autobiography where the actor claimed that filming of the sitcom involved a lot of “sex, drugs and wild parties”.
In 2015, Dustin was arrested for possession of a knife, which he allegedly pulled during a bar altercation, where a man was stabbed. He was sentenced to four months in prison, but served three and was released on probation. Then in 2016, Dustin’s probation agent determined he had violated the terms of his probation and the actor was allegedly arrested again.
Mario Lopez (A.C. Slater)
Mario was well-known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on Saved by the Bell. (Image: Instagram/ @MarioLopez)
Entertainment journalist Mario was well-known for his first portrayal of A.C. Slater on Saved by the Bell.
The TV hunk has only further built on his success, since leaving the high school sit-com behind, including his role as an entertainment journalist on serial tabloid Extra.
The actor and reporter made headlines last year for sparking backlash for his “ignorant and insensitive” comments made about families with transgender children.
During a podcast interview with Candace Owens, Lopez was criticised as he said it was “dangerous” for parents to support young transgender children.
The media personality has since apologised for the comments made during the podcast, saying in a statement to CNN: “The comments I made were ignorant and insensitive, and I now have a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were.”
Lark Voorhies (Lisa Marie Turtle)
Lark Voorhies played the role of Lisa Marie Turtle from 1989 to 1993 (Image: Getty)
Lark Voorhies played the role of Lisa Marie Turtle from 1989 to 1993 and has since thrived as an actress, singer, spokeswoman and model. She is also open about having bipolar disorder.
She recently made headlines as she reportedly slammed her Saved By The Bell co-stars and show executives following their “hurtful” remake which saw her snubbed.
Appearing on Dr Oz, Lark opened up about being left out and talked about her struggles with bipolar, saying: “I have to admit I did feel a bit slighted and hurt when I was not invited to be part of the Saved by the Bell reunion, as well as other cast members’ events.
“Yet of course, I also realised that having this puzzling disorder may have played a major part in that factual decision.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
