Tori Spelling Said ‘No’ to ‘Multiple Calls’ to Join ‘DWTS’ Over the Years Until Now

Tori Spelling isn’t letting fear get in the way of her dreams.

On the Sept. 6 episode of her misSPELLING podcast, the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, 51, opened up about getting cast in season 33 of Dancing with the Stars. Though competing on the series has always been a big dream of hers, Spelling admitted that she always let her fear get in the way of going for the mirrorball trophy.

“I got multiple calls over the last previous 32 seasons. Maybe in fact, 32 calls. The answer was always no and I always had a different reason why I couldn’t do it,” she recalled. “Every season I [watched it], and I was like, ‘Good for her [or] for him. Oh, god. I wish I was brave enough to do it.'”

The actress confessed she was always too “terrified” to take the stage. While there would be times she would decline the offer for valid reasons, Spelling admitted that she also “didn’t have any belief in myself.”

When her team was approached with another offer, Spelling decided to take the chance despite it being “literally one of my biggest fears in life.”

“Watch it with my kids. Watched every season,” she continued. “So I’m pushing through my fears. I’m a work in progress. So I said yes to something that was one of my biggest fears… I have a lot of gratitude to the friends in my life and family that have said to me, We believe in you.”

Spelling also revealed how her late costar Shannen Doherty, who died at age 53 after years of living with cancer in July, made a huge “impact” on her decision.

“I’m so blessed that I had this past year with her,” she explained. “And this past year was really rebuilding, finding our friendship again, rebuilding it. And she was so amazing at not focusing on herself and what she was going through, but being there for her friends.”

The actress said she can still envision their final conversation and her words of encouragement.

“I see that final conversation with her, and I see her face,” she continued. “And I see her saying to me, ‘You have to turn your power on. What are you scared of?’ And I’m like, ‘That I won’t be small anymore, that I’ll be powerful.’ She goes, ‘And?’ And then I joke.”

On Sept. 4, Good Morning America announced other cast members who will join Spelling this season. The celebrity competitors include: Phaedra Parks, Eric Roberts, Anna Delvey, Dwight Howard, Brooks Nader, Joey Graziadei, Jenn Tran, Chandler Kinney, Stephen Nedoroscik, Reginald VelJohnson and more.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Dancing with the Stars is produced in front of a live audience by BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions. Season 33 premieres Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with the episode available to stream the next day on Hulu.