BREAKING NEWS: Melrose Place Producer Says Heather Locklear Was Aaron Spelling’s ‘Lucky Penny’. giang

There’s a reason Heather Locklear appeared in so many of Aaron Spelling’s TV series: the legendary producer considered her something of a good luck charm, according to Melrose Place producer Chip Hayes.

Hayes, who also served as a writer and director on the soapy ’90s primetime drama, joined hosts Laura Leighton, Courtney Thorne-Smith and Daphne Zuniga on the most recent episode of their iHeart podcast Still the Place, where he described the dynamic between Spelling and series creator Darren Star.

“Aaron was not in the writers’ room. Aaron was running a zillion other shows,” Hayes said. “Darren would, you know, they would pitch the stories to Aaron before they pitched them to the network.”

But, Hayes added, “I can guarantee you, Aaron was the one that said, ‘We need to bring in a villain. We need an Alexis Carrington in here,’ because he’d done that before.”

Hayes, of course, was referring to the introduction of Joan Collins’ iconic character in the second season of Spelling’s previous nighttime soap Dynasty in 1981, a move that has been credited with turning the show into a hit. Similarly, Locklear’s promotion to series regular in Melrose Place’s second season, after her character, Amanda Woodward, bought and moved into the titular apartment building, was seen as a successfully ploy to goose the show’s ratings.

“Heather was his ace in the hole,” Smith noted. “At one point, she was doing two of his shows at once.”

Indeed, beginning in the ’80s, Locklear either starred in or made guest appearances in a number of Spelling’s series, including Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, T.J. Hooker and Dynasty.

“He called her his ‘lucky penny,’ ” Hayes agreed.

“She was certainly our lucky penny,” Smith said.

“The ratings were creeping up even before she came on,” Hayes recalled. “She just kinda took it to that next level. And then all the stuff that came out of that, you know, the writers just ate it up and just went with it.”

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Melrose Place did see a significant boost in viewership in its second season, and Locklear went on to receive Golden Globe Award nominations for her portrayal of Amanda. She even reprised the role on The CW’s 2009 revival of the series.

Last September, the 62-year-old actress made a rare appearance at 90s Con in Daytona Beach, Fla., reuniting with Melrose Place co-stars Zuniga, Leighton, Josie Bissett, Brooke Langton and Grant Show. During the event she explained that it was always “more fun” to play characters like Amanda “not straight.”

“When you’re a bitch, you don’t go around thinking you’re a bitch,” she explained. “You just think you’re right.”