Lauren Collins broke her silence about her absence from the Degrassi: Whatever It Takes tell-all documentary.
Collins, 39, who played fan favorite Paige on Degrassi: The Next Generation, revealed it was her choice not to participate, telling E! News recently, “I’m so proud of my time on the show. I feel so grateful for it. I’ve been talking about it for 25 years, and I’m happy to do it on my own terms.”
While Collins didn’t watch the doc yet, she still showed her support. “I’ve heard it’s great, and I’m excited to see it,” she added.
Degrassi is a Canadian teen drama TV franchise that debuted in 1979. Following the lives of students attending a high school in Toronto, Degrassi expanded over the years with spinoffs including Degrassi: The Next Generation and Degrassi: Next Class.
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Degrassi: Whatever It Takes, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, featured interviews with Drake, Dayo Ade, Stefan Brogren, Amanda Deiseach, Maureen Deiseach, Shenae Grimes-Beech, Jake Epstein, Shane Kippel, Miriam McDonald, Stacie Mistysyn, Melinda Shankar, Amanda Stepto and Jordan Todosey. Filmmaker Kevin Smith also appears in the doc, discussing the show’s impact on pop culture.
“You know the show. Now discover the story behind it,” the official Degrassi account wrote via Instagram alongside the trailer for the documentary. “Degrassi: Whatever It Takes dives into the behind-the-scenes truth of the Degrassi franchise. Through archival footage and intimate interviews with cast, crew, and fans, the documentary celebrates the groundbreaking legacy of Degrassi—a fearless Canadian teen drama that broke boundaries and reshaped television.”
In the sneak peek, Drake, 38, opened up about his experience behind the scenes.
“I didn’t have a great time in high school. I just didn’t really fit in,” the rapper, who played Jimmy, shared. “And one day my mom called me and told me, ‘You got the role,’ and I just grabbed my bag and left. Man, what a wild journey that started.”
Drake recalled filming a kiss scene with Collins for the show, saying, “She had to be one of my first kisses for sure. Damn, I never thought about it like that.”
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Collins weighed in on the revelation during her interview with E! News. “I was like, ‘I don’t know if I knew that,’” she noted. “I guess it’s safe to assume because we were all so young when that happened. What’s funny is, he was not one of mine.”
According to Collins, Daniel Clark, who played Sean on Degrassi, was her first kiss when they filmed I Was a Sixth Grade Alien from 1999 to 2000.
“That is where I had my first kiss on camera with Danny,” she revealed before quipping, “I might have been [Drake’s] first kiss, but he wasn’t mine. Sorry to this man!”
Collins continued: “You just have this mutual, shared experience that only so many of us on this earth share. We’re bonded for life, all of us. I have very warm, fond feelings for my original core cast.”
