Saved by the Bell Star Lark Voorhies on Series, Dustin Diamond's Death

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Posted in: NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: Saved by the Bell

Saved by the Bell Star Lark Voorhies on Series, Dustin Diamond's Death

Saved by the Bell star Lark Voorhies discusses her favorite series moments, reaching out to Dustin Diamond before his death, and more.

Published Sat, 09 May 2026 10:37:08 -0500
by Tom Chang
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Article Summary

  • Saved by the Bell star Lark Voorhies revisits Lisa Turtle, sharing why playing the fan-favorite role meant so much.
  • Voorhies reflects on Saved by the Bell’s NBC run, from its Miss Bliss roots to becoming a lasting TV franchise.
  • Lark Voorhies opens up about reuniting with the Saved by the Bell cast for Peacock’s reboot and honoring Screech.
  • Voorhies shares her grief over Dustin Diamond’s 2021 death and recalls reaching out before losing her close friend.

Lark Voorhies is just as synonymous with Saved by the Bell as her co-stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Dustin Diamond, back when it was the Disney Channel's Good Morning, Miss Bliss. Following a cast overhaul, a move to NBC, and rebranding the Sam Bobrick-created series, the trio, along with Dennis Haskins' Principal Richard Belding, transitioned into the new show and was joined by Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, and Tiffani Thiessen, and the rest was history. The new Saved by the Bell not only enjoyed four more seasons, but it also enjoyed two TV movies; two direct spinoffs called The New Class with a new cast and The College Years, NBC's attempt to expand the franchise to primetime; and a Saved by the Bell legacy reboot featuring a mix of the originals and new class at Bayside High on Peacock. Voorhies, who found her way back to the franchise with the Tracey Wigfield reboot, which lasted two seasons from 2020 to 2021, spoke with Investigation Discovery for the docuseries Hollywood Demons episode "After the Bell" to reflect on her time on the original NBC Saturday morning series, her return to the franchise on Peacock, and reaching out to Diamond shortly before his passing in 2021.

Lark Voorhies and Dustin Diamond in "Saved by the Bell". Image courtesy of NBC

Saved by the Bell Star Lark Voorhies Reflects on Original NBC Series Run, Peacock Return, and Dustin Diamond

Voorhies played fashionista Lisa Turtle, who occasionally got dragged into Zack Morris' (Gosselaar) schemes, and became the object of Screech's (Diamond) affections even though she repeatedly refused them, which doesn't age the series well for the #MeToo era. While Screech did learn to become friends with Lisa, both Diamond and Voorhies developed a lifelong friendship. "It was the best feeling in the world. The best," Voorhies said. "It is great to bring life to these characters, and when you know you've hit that character, there's nothing like that rush in the world. Because you can see the boom it's going to bring to everyone else in the audience."

Lark Voorhies, Elizabeth Berkley, Mario Lopez, Tiffani Thiessen, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar in Saved by the Bell (2021). Photo by Trae Patton/Peacock

While Diamond did appear in both The College Years and The New Class, Voorhies forged her own path landed roles on Martin, The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Parkers before entering her hiatus from the screen in 2012. The Peacock reboot would see five of the six young cast members reunite with Voorhies, who only appeared on video in season one but twice in person in the second and final season. Screech's initial absence was explained as him being busy with work at NASA in season one. She, Gosselaar, Lopez, Berkley, Thiessen, and original series holdover Ed Alonzo paid tribute to Diamond in the season two premiere, "The Last Year Dance," through Max (Alonzo), who creates a specialty spaghetti burger called the Screech as the five toast their burgers in his honor.

Diamond's close friend Dan Block shared that Voorhies "was too emotional" during the taping, and "she had to keep going back to makeup. She had a hard time with that." Voorhies shared, "Yeah, he died of cancer, and that hurt. When Dustin died, we still carried it on… and we all got to celebrate him. I'm glad we got that on footage, because he matters," adding, "That was my very good friend. I miss him." For more, including what Voorhies' favorite SBTB episode, and why Hawaiian was her favorite in the franchise, you can check out the piece.

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