.: OUR PLANS FOR A CHARMED COMEBACK :.

THE ACTRESS TALKS TV REBOOTS, THE PERILS OF FAME, AND WHY SHE’S HAPPY BEING ‘NORMAL’

As one of a trio of witches in hit TV series, Charmed, Holly Marie Combs turned the character of Piper Halliwell into a household name. And despite 22 years passing since the show first aired, its popularity hasn’t waned.

“It had this crazy, farreaching ability,” the 46-yearold actress tells New Idea about its global appeal. “It was shocking to hear just how well we were doing in Australia, for example.”

Running from 1998 to 2006, the series followed three magical sisters – played by Holly, with Alyssa Milano as Phoebe, and Shannen Doherty as Prue – who spent their time vanquishing demons and falling in love.

“I’ve talked to a lot of disenchanted or disenfranchised people who liked the show because it made them feel that if you were different, you could still be loved and still belong to a family,” she says.

The sibling chemistry on camera between Holly and co-star Shannen wasn’t just acting – the pair were besties long before they signed on to the show. In fact, in Sliding Doors-like synchronicity, Holly actually had a hand in getting Shannen to take the role in Charmed.

“I had started the auditioning process already and was in Shannen’s car one day and saw a script for the show on the back seat of her car and I said, ‘Have you read that?’,” Holly recalls. “She replied, ‘No’, and I said, ‘You should, it’s pretty good’.”

Shannen signed on and remained with the cast for three seasons. And with their existing friendship, the ingredients for on-set antics were there, especially after long days of shooting.

“The days were very long,” remembers Holly. “We were filming a scene in a wine shop and there were all these plastic grapes around. We ended up having a food fight! The props department kept them and Friday night grape fights became a tradition.”

Reflections of these carefree hijinks are in stark contrast to the battle being faced by her co-star today. Last month, Shannen announced that her breast cancer – which went into remission in 2017 – had returned and that this time it was terminal. In the wake of the 48-yearold’s revelation, naysayers pointed out that, while her other former co-stars had issued tributes of support on social media, Holly hadn’t.

However, the actress was quick to shut down criticism by writing on her Twitter account: “Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t use social media to send messages to people I’ve known for 30 years.”

In the current climate of revival mania – especially with ’90s shows – Charmed was ripe for a reboot. And it happened two years ago, just not with the original cast. A new series aired in 2018 featuring an all-new trio. Handily for fans of the original series, Holly and co-star Alyssa have been mulling over their own comeback.

“We started talking about how and what that would look like,” explains Holly. “I don’t know if we could do a season year after year, because we’re all in very different places in our lives … I think a miniseries might work.

“The demand from fans for a new incarnation is still very alive.”

Now living an admittedly “un-hollywood” existence with her hubby and three boys from a previous marriage, she prefers the quiet life to the red carpet.

“I try to go to my grocery store like anyone,” she says. “My kids have had as normal life a life as they can. Plus, I’m not very good at it – I’m not really good at giving the perfect interview or striking the perfect pose on the red carpet.

“I know it’s important to have a private life because these people who are born performers can get really lonely when the curtain closes. And that’s the tragic nature of our business – I’ve seen Hollywood eat people alive.

“What I’ve told my children is if you want to do it, that’s fine, but you need to go to school and finish college. I’d really like them to have other interests too.”

It’s clearly worked for the actress, whose other passion is conservation organisation Sea Shepherd. “Because of who I am, I can tell people just how important it is that there’s tonnes of plastic in the ocean.”

With climate change rearing its ugly head across the globe, the activist wishes more than ever that she had her alterego’s powers in real life.

“Absolutely! I would freeze time, I would vanquish, I would do a lot of things,” she says. “But nothing for personal gain, of course, because those are the rules!”