Dustin Diamond Dishes on 'Saved by the Bell'

In book excerpt, Screech reveals tales of sex and drugs on the set.

ByABC News
October 1, 2009, 1:09 PM

Oct. 1, 2009— -- The sitcom "Saved by the Bell" entertained millions around the world. But what really happened behind the scenes?

Dustin Diamond, who played nerdy Samuel "Screech" Powers for nearly 13 years, tells the whole story, from the hardcore partying to real-life romances between cast members to the cast's dirty secrets.

In his new book, "Behind The Bell," Diamond pulls back the curtain to give fans the inside scoop on one of television's biggest and most beloved hits. In this excerpt for ABCNews.com, he talks about fellow castmastes Zach Morris, aka "The Golden Child," and Tiffani Amber Thiessen.

"I've heard lots of Hollywood hearsay in my day, but I can only vouch for what I saw with my own two eyes and heard with my own two ears. Here is one of the most f****d up things I saw behind the scenes of SBTB. Draw your own conclusions because I still don't know what to make of it.

The Golden Child started getting called to St. Peter's office for long meetings. Extremely long. He wasn't in any trouble, there was no Zack Morris spin-off in the works; he just slipped into the office and closed the door behind him. Which was weird in and of itself, because typically Peter kept his office door open for most meetings. But then again, most meetings with the cast only lasted several minutes. So what were these talks? What was going on?

I had heard stories about St. Peter, rumors beyond the dope and party days. Nothing I could verify of course. All I know is what I saw. I used to hang upstairs around the NBC offices at Stage 9 (where Good Morning, Miss Bliss started and where the original SBTB ended) because I liked to check out all the hot chicks who were cast as extras, the hot extras who were getting bumped up a notch to speaking parts, and, of course, the hot interns. This was during the time when The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was taping next door on Stage 11. We shared wardrobe rooms side-by-side with their show, and I used to play chess backstage with Will Smith, who was a strong player.