Shannen Doherty’s Charmed co-star Holly Marie Combs breaks silence after actress’ death from cancer aged 53: ‘A fierce fighter until the end’

Shannen Doherty’s Charmed co-star Holly Marie Combs has broken her silence following the actress’ tragic death from cancer on Saturday.

Beverly Hills, 90210 star Doherty had breast augmentation surgery cancer since 2015 – in June last year the disease spread to her brain.

Combs, 50, who played Piper Halliwell In the long-running WB series Charmed, about three witch sisters, Doherty was praised for being “a fierce fighter to the end.”

She wrote on Instagram: ‘My other half of 31 years. There’s a hollow in my chest and I can’t hold my breath. A part of me is missing, even though I know exactly what you’d say to me right now. I know exactly what you’d tell me right now.

“I know that your immortal spirit will live in me and my children, whom you loved as your own. They will walk with your sense of purpose and pride.”

She wrote on Instagram: ‘My other half of 31 years. There’s a hollow in my chest and I can’t hold my breath. A part of me is missing, even though I know exactly what you’d say to me right now. I know exactly what you’d tell me right now’

“They will be honest and stand up for what is right. No matter what and they won’t give a f**k. Your fire will live on in them and the many other Charmeds you helped raise.

“A fierce fighter to the end. My most ardent champion. My loyal protector. My best friend. You taught me the meaning of family. You were and will always be my sister. I love you.”

She attached a few snaps of the duo in happier times to her post.

Combs and Doherty have grown even closer in recent months, after Combs opened up about the behind-the-scenes drama between her, Alyssa Milano and Doherty on their hit series Charmed.

Discussing the Beverly Hills, 90210 star’s abrupt departure from the series in 2001 after its third season, on Doherty’s podcast, Let’s be clearCombs revealed that she met with show producer Jonathan Levin about her co-star’s firing.

Combs claimed that Levin told her, “We didn’t mean it, but we’ve been backed into a corner. We’re in a position now where it’s either one or the other.”

We were told [by Alyssa] it’s her or [Shannen] “And Alyssa threatened to sue us for a hostile work environment,” she recalled Levin telling her.

On Sunday, Doherty’s publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed the actor’s death.

She accompanied the post with a series of snaps of the duo in happier times

The duo is pictured with Rose McGowan in February 2024

“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of battling the disease,” Sloane said People.

“The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones and her dog, Bowie. The family requests their privacy at this time so they may grieve in peace,” Sloane added.

Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh on the hit 1990s series, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.

Just two years later, the Charmed star announced that the cancer had returned, after she went into remission.

She told Good Morning America at the time: ‘In a few days or a week, I’m going to be diagnosed with stage 4. So my cancer has come back and that’s why I’m here.’

“I don’t think I’ve processed it. It’s a bitter pill to swallow in many ways,” she said.

Last year, she announced in an Instagram post that the cancer had spread to her brain, and it showed her undergoing radiation therapy.

The duo is pictured on Charmed in 1998 with Alyssa Milano

Doherty died at age 53 after a long battle with breast cancer (2019 photo)

In October 1990, Doherty starred in the original Beverly Hills 90210, but left the series after its fourth season in 1994. She returned as a guest star on the show in 2008 after it was rebooted.

After the popular series, she starred in the witch drama Charmed. Doherty played Prue Halliwell, the eldest of the three witch sisters.

After directing several episodes of Charmed, Doherty left the series in 2001. She then moved on to work in reality television, appearing as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and on the show Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty.

She starred in the 2019 reboot of 90210, playing the adult version of Brenda Walsh.

Doherty initially kept her diagnosis a secret, but after her co-star Luke Perry died suddenly in 2019 at the age of 52, she spoke openly about her health struggles.

Perry died on March 4 of that year after suffering a massive ischemic stroke at his home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles.

“It’s so strange for me to get diagnosed and for someone who, you know, was seemingly healthy to be the first to go,” Doherty said on Good morning America in 2020. ‘It was really shocking.’