‘Screech’ aka Dustin Diamond says he’s sorry for tell-all book Behind the Bell

DUSTIN Diamond has told his ex Saved by the Bell co-star Mario Lopez about life in jail and apologised for his tell-all book that slammed his former friends.

Dustin Diamond and Saved by the Bell co-star Mario Lopez. Picture: Supplied

DUSTIN Diamond has told his Saved by the Bell co-star Mario Lopez about life in jail and apologised for his tell-all book that slammed his former friends.

Diamond, 39, who played Samuel ‘Screech’ Powers, was found guilty of carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct for a bar fight in 2014 which resulted in him spending three months in prison.

Dustin Diamond begging online in 2006 for donations from the public to save him losing his Wisconsin house. Picture: Supplied

Samuel ‘Screech’ Powers aka Dustin Diamond ion Saved by the Bell. Picture: Getty

“It’s pretty daunting, it’s pretty scary going into that environment,” he told Lopez on Extra. “I found that as long as you follow the rules and stay with the system, it works. You can get in and out unscathed.”

Diamond said he and his fiancee, Amanda Schutz, were celebrating Christmas when he was asked to pose for a photo.

Dustin Diamond leaves with his fiancee, Amanda Schutz during his trial. Picture: Jeffrey Phelps/Getty Images

“One of the girl’s friends [that Amanda] was talking to sucker-punched my fiancee … she leaned back to me and her face was covered in blood,” he said. “I opened my pocket knife and said, ‘Let my wife go immediately,’ which worked.”

(l-r) Mario Lopez as Alabert Clifford 'A.C.' Slater, Dennis Haskins as Mr. Richard Belding, Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle, Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski, Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie Spano, Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zachary 'Zach' Morris, Dustin Diamond as Screech Powers.

Diamond said his blade ‘nicked’ 25-year-old Casey Smett’s arm.

“It was a Band-Aid, the most expensive Band-Aid I’ve ever bought,” he said.

(l-r) Jimmy Fallon, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez during the Saved by the Bell skit in 2015. Picture: Getty Images

Lopez, who played AC Slater alongside Diamond in Saved by the Bell, asked his former co-star about his tell-all book, Behind the Bell, and his reasons for writing it.

The book claimed that Tiffani Amber Thiessen was seeing both Lopez and Mark Paul Gosselaar at the same time, that the cast would often smoke marijuana during filming and that Lopez had date raped a girl and that NBC paid her hush money.

Dustin Diamond alleged in his book that Tiffani Amber Thiessen dated both Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Mario Lopez at the same time. Picture: Paul Drinkwater/NBC

“The book didn’t exactly paint a flattering picture of your fellow castmates,” Lopez told Diamond.

“I wanted to write a book about my life ... I was supposed to talk to a ghostwriter for 40 hours total. I talked to a guy for 90 minutes total ... another two weeks go by, and I get something in the mail, I get a copy of the book ... They fabricated a whole bunch of stuff ... I kind of super railroaded on that,” he said.

(l-r) Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski, Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zachary 'Zack' Morris, Mario Lopez as Albert Clifford "A.C.' Slater, Dustin Diamond as Screech Powers and Executive Producer Peter Engel at a table read. Picture: Supplied

“Imagine how I feel, I haven’t talked to Marc Paul or Elizabeth or Tiffani in ages, so I can’t imagine what they think, and I’m hoping this will clear it up. It wasn’t me, I didn’t write this. I was just as shocked and appalled.”

Diamond also revealed that he used a stand in for his 2006 sex tape entitled Screeched.