Laura Leighton Was ‘Fighting Tears’ on Last Day Filming “Melrose Place”: ‘It Was Difficult to Say Goodbye’

Laura Leighton had a hard time leaving her breakout role on Melrose Place.

On the Jan. 6 episode of the Still Here Hollywood Podcast with Steve Kmetko, the 56-year-old actress opened up about her decision to leave the series — and her role as Sydney Andrews — after the show’s fifth season.

She called that time in the show a “turning point,” because many of the cast members — who were working on five-year contracts — left then. The series went on for two more years.

“It was a choice I made, but it was difficult,” she said about leaving the show. “It was difficult to say goodbye to the people and to know that I was closing that chapter. And I remember I was very sad on the last scene on the last day that I worked. I remember I was like, ‘I can't fall apart. Like, that would be so embarrassing.’ ”

“But I definitely felt sad enough to be fighting tears and thinking, oh, I shouldn't let that out,” she said.

Leighton’s Sydney was the show’s chaotic bad girl, who always shook things up. Off-camera, she also met her husband — Doug Savant — on the series, on which he played Matt Fielding.

Related: Melrose Place Cast Dish on Which Castmember Has the Highest Shirtless Count and Who Kissed Whose Toes (Exclusive)

Melrose Place was Leighton’s first major role. Back in 1994, she told PEOPLE in a cover story about the show that her most challenging performance before was in a commercial for Dep hair gel. “I can still do the move,” she said, flipping her hair.

"Doing this show is great, nothing but great,” she said at the time, though she added that her mom had some issues getting used to bad girl Sydney. “She said, ‘Oh, can’t you just be good?’ ” she said “She’s used to it now. On Thursday mornings she can get together with her friends, who all say, ‘She was so bad last night!’ ”

Related: Melrose Place Cast Tease Upcoming Revival Series: ‘Everyone Has Agreed to Do It’

Leighton and her costars Courtney Thorne-Smith and Daphne Zuniga launched a rewatch podcast, Still the Place, back in July. Leighton — who also appeared on Pretty Little Liars — told PEOPLE that she actually never rewatched Melrose Place episodes prior to the pod. “Maybe I did it once, but it just depressed me,” she said. “Just seeing yourself 30 years ago — it's dated in ways and you are so young. I don't know. It's just a trip to watch yourself that many years ago.”

She also told PEOPLE that she only realized how popular the series was when she attended the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner and learned so many attendees were fans. “All of these writers for national magazines and politicians watched it, and I'm like, ‘Aren't you supposed to be running the country?’ ” she said.

Speaking to Kmetko, Leighton said she still misses the routine of heading to the Melrose Place set. “There's something really special about a television show, more than even a film, I think, because if you're lucky enough to get one that lasts as long as Melrose did, it becomes a family,” she said. “And so having that place to go every week is something there's nothing like it. And you miss it when it's gone.”

Read the original article on People