ALL SOAPS Comings & Goings

For those wondering about the handsome stranger who rescued Sonny in the woods on General Hospital, that was One Life to Live actor Mikey Jerome as Eddie!

Fans may recall that Jerome was the season three winner of the reality series I Wanna Be a Soap Star, which landed him his One Life to Live role in 2006. The actor played Llanview’s Ted Osbourne, Vincent Jones’ sidekick who helped to rig Cristian Vega’s boxing match. Though Vincent changed his mind and tried to stop the match, Ted wanted to make a quick buck but ended up getting a confession beaten out of him by Cristian, which set him on a path of revenge against Vincent.

Jerome shared a behind the scenes photo on Instagram while on the General Hospital set and expressed wanting to return one day. “If you can send messages to the [show’s] Instagram site. Or email General Hospital at ABC… It could really help my chances of a return.”

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He went on to post a photo on Facebook from the January 12 episode and stated, “If you have Twitter, get on the General Hospital page and ask for more of Eddie. Was so cool acting all day w/a Soap Icon. #sonny #mauricebernard.”

Would you like to see more of Eddie? View a photo gallery of other General Hospital actors we want to see return to Port Charles then view photos of One Life to Live over the years.

– Amy Mistretta

Ivan G’Vera is back on Days of Our Lives as Ivan Marais beginning Thursday, January 14 when the character returns to Salem to collect Eli and Lani’s twins! Back in December we reported that Linda Dano would be taking over the role of Vivian Alamain for the character’s big return and we know she still holds a grudge against Lani for causing Stefan’s death during that shootout.

Fans will recall that Ivan is Vivian’s trusted sidekick — one who would do anything for his Madame — and a Bollywood producer. G’Vera first appeared in the role back in 1990 and has turned up numerous times over the years.

His last visit to Salem was in July 2020 when Ivan revealed that Jake was Stefan’s twin, which not only stunned Jake and Gabi but Vivian as well. Ivan went on to explain how Jake was very sick at birth and wasn’t expected to live — and for all Ivan knew he didn’t survive.

Even though Ivan and Vivian didn’t make the cut, view a photo gallery of 10 Days of Our Lives baddies gone good.

– Amy Mistretta

Camila Banus is heading back to Days of Our Lives as Gabi Hernandez DiMera next week, beginning on Tuesday January 19, as detailed in our Days spoilers. The actress already returned once since the announcement came late last year that she would be exiting the role. We last saw the character on November 30, 2020 when Gabi decided to leave Salem to be with her daughter Ari in Arizona — after spying Jake in bed with Kate and learning that he had real feelings for the older woman.

So what can fans expect when Gabi hits Salem? Headwriter Ron Carlivati explained during our 2021 Days Preview interview, Gabi’s got her eye on the prize… and that prize is Jake! Banus admits that seeing Stefan’s brother with Kate was like a knife to her heart. “Of all people, Kate?” she sighs. “That hurt Gabi. She covers it with a lot of anger, but Kate is kind of the only real mother figure that she’s had in the last 10 years. So that was a kind of devastating blow to her heart.”

Despite how close the two women are, that doesn’t mean that Gabi isn’t going to fight for the guy. “Her first instinct was to sort of turn away,” says Carlivati. “But since leaving town, she’s regrouped. Now, she’s back and more determined than ever to fight for Jake. And she might just play dirty!”

So, hang on to your hats, fans, it sounds as though it’ll be a bumpy ride! Look back through our gallery and view photos of other Days of Our Lives actors who have recently returned.

– Amy Mistretta/Richard Simms

The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless crossover begin this week on CBS daytime and we’ve got all the who, what, where, and when information for viewers as Summer’s plan to find out more about Sally Spectra’s history plays out. Keep reading to find out which actors and characters will feature on which day… and on which soap opera. Please note episode dates are subject to change due to breaking news coverage.

It all kicks off on Tuesday, January 12 on The Young and the Restless. As fans know, Summer Newman (Hunter King) and Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) are on the Jabot jet headed to Los Angeles, and the first person they make contact with upon arrival will be none other than Sally’s ex-fiance, the man she led to believe she had a terminal disease, Wyatt Spencer (Darin Brooks).

The crossover continues on Young and Restless on Friday, January 15, and will again involve Summer, Kyle, and Wyatt, who will presumably meet in person. Will Sally’s name come up? That remains to be seen, but things will definitely get much more interesting when Bill Spencer Jr. (Don Diamont) enters the picture. That takes place on Bold & Beautiful on Monday, January 18, when Wyatt makes the introductions in the Spencer Publication office. Wyatt’s girlfriend Flo Fulton (Katrina Bowden), who was held captive by Sally when her plan went awry, will join the crossover event in that episode as well.

The digging continues on Bold & Beautiful on Tuesday, January 19 with Summer and Flo breaking off from the group meeting. Will Flo have some choice words to say about her former nemesis, Sally, or will she let bygones be bygones? Tune in to find out!

Finally, the crossover event culminates on Thursday, January 21, with Flo making a trip to The Young and the Restless. Whether she joins Kyle and Summer on the Jabot jet for the return trip or takes the Spencer jet is, well, up in the air, but we do know she will join her new friends in Genoa City and even though Sally’s aware that Summer’s snooping. This doesn’t bode well for the ambitious redhead! See a gallery of daytime characters who have crossed over to other shows.

– Candace Young

Actress Evelina Martinez has been cast in the role of Chelsea’s nurse on The Young and the Restless. The news was shared on social media by none other than Melissa Claire Egan, who revealed Martinez is a close friend of hers and shared a photo of the pair on set together. She captioned it, “How lucky am I that my dear friend Evelina Martinez was cast as my nurse! She’s fantastic!”

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Martinez, who is playing Nurse Meredith, a caregiver on site at Adam and Chelsea’s penthouse, also shared the happy casting update on her Instagram and enthused, “Chelsea is well taken care of!!! Nurse Meredith is on her side.” She was first seen on January 6 and 7, and will appear again on January 11. The actress previously appeared as a medical technician on The Bold and the Beautiful in 2015.

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This casting news seems to be something of a trend as Melissa Claire Egan’s husband has twice been cast in roles on The Young and the Restless when there was a need for a character to be close to her alter-ego, Chelsea. Matt Katrosar first appeared on Young & Restless as Chelsea’s kidnapper in November, when she was taken from the Chancellor Estate, and held in a small room as Adam endeavored to keep her from spoiling his plans to blow up Newman Towers.

More recently, Katrosar returned to Young & Restless as a paramedic in the scenes where Chelsea was rushed to the hospital after her aneurysm burst and she collapsed in the penthouse.

Between her husband and her friends, it seems those close to Melissa Claire Egan are ensuring that Chelsea’s well taken care of, and that fans can enjoy some realistic closeness in the scenes amid social distancing. If you missed it previously, take a look back on Chelsea Lawson Newman‘s history in Genoa City through our photo gallery.

– Candace Young

Soap vet Victoria Platt will be making her way back to Days of Our Lives to reprise the role of Dr. Amanda Raynor, as reported by Soap Opera Digest. The actress, who also had roles on All My Children (Corinne Elroy) and Guiding Light (Vicky Spaulding), was last seen in April 2020 and will return beginning Friday, January 8 — oh, and fun fact, she’s married to fellow soap actor Terrell Tilford, who appeared on Days as well.

Need a refresher on her last storyline? The doctor was involved in the whole baby switch fiasco surrounding Sarah and Kristen’s little girls after Sarah’s Mackenzie, with Eric, supposedly died at birth following a car accident. Dr. Raynor was sucked into Xander’s baby switch fix then fled Salem for New York. However, Nicole became suspicious, tracked down the doctor and forced her to confess that Eric’s daughter was really Kristen’s daughter Rachel with Brady.

Raynor went on to explain to Nicole how she got involved and recalled Victor and Xander coming upon her trying to revive Sarah’s baby and how she panicked and agreed when they ordered her to switch the babies — she even took Victor’s money and left town only to return. From there, Xander threatened her life so she left Salem for good. Though Raynor urged Nicole to turn her in to the police, Nicole knew the wrath of Victor and Xander firsthand and didn’t see her as the villain.

And now she’s back… the question is why? Our Days of Our Lives spoilers indicate that after looking at a sketch of her babies’ kidnapper, Lani recognizes the person. Could the fallout from her part in the 2020 baby switch have caused enough mental trauma to lead the doctor into kidnapping Eli and Lani’s baby[ies]?

Stay tuned and take a look at our photo gallery of other crazy Salem twists and turns from 2020.

– Amy Mistretta

Denise Alexander is making another trip back to General Hospital beginning Friday, January 8 to play Lesley Webber, the mother of Genie Francis’ Laura, as reported by Soap Opera Digest. With Laura discovering that Martin and Cyrus are her half-brothers, through her biological father Gordon Grey, Laura’s past had been briefly mentioned at their family reunion, including her mother.

Lesley had an affair with Gordon but convinced him not to leave his wife Florence, Martin and Cyrus’ mother, for her. When she wound up pregnant, she was led to believe her child was stillborn, but baby Laura was actually swapped with another child and ended up with the Vining family and raised by Barbara and Jason. Lesley would eventually be reunited with Laura, and her then-husband Rick adopted her.

Alexander has played Lesley on and off from 1975 until 2013. She most recently appeared on the ABC soap for its 56th anniversary in April of 2019, a show which also honored the passing of the character Gail Baldwin. She also appeared at Kevin and Laura’s 2017 wedding.

Browse our gallery of 2020’s year in review for General Hospital.

– Dustin Cushman

Actress Dana Sparks has landed a new role on The Young and the Restless as Dr. Lena Cavett, a specialist who deals with stroke patients. Presumably that will see her working at Genoa City Memorial hospital alongside the likes of Dr. Elena Dawson and Dr. Nate Hastings.

Dr. Cavett will be brought to town by Adam, as he seeks help for Chelsea, who recently wound up paralyzed on her right side and unable to speak following a stroke that took place after the aneurysm in her brain burst just hours before she was scheduled to undergo surgery. Sparks described her character to Soap Opera Digest as “Direct but kind,” and added, “I play her as doing the best she can to help the situation, whether it’s being honest or encouraging. She’s very grounded and in a very understanding, compassionate way.”

As Elena explained to Adam, Chelsea will have to learn to speak again and to regain mobility on her right side, so after reaching out to Victor for help enabling him to bring in the best specialists, Dr. Cavett will become a part of that rehabilitation team.

Dana Sparks will be well known to soap opera viewers who were fans of Passions, where she played Grace Bennett, wife of Sam Bennett, as well as her twin sister, Faith, who later died in a fire. Sparks appeared on the now-defunct campy soap from 1999 – 2007, and also did a stint on primetime sudser, Melrose Place, in 1995, where she played Carol Graham.

Watch for Sparks’ first scenes on Young & Restless to air on Thursday, January 7. In the meantime, check out our photos of Adam through the years.

– Candace Young

As many viewers have hoped, Judith Chapman will once again return to The Young and the Restless as the inimitable Gloria Fisher. She took to her Facebook page to tease, “It’s a New Year, time for a new attitude. Glo and I are Hollywood bound. Time to kick a** in 2021. Just do it!!”

In a separate post, Chapman revealed she was scheduled to undergo testing on Monday, January 4, in preparation to film at Young & Restless that same week. Given that Gloria’s son, Kevin, recently unearthed the flashdrive she hid at the Chancellor Estate during her last visit to see her new grandson, Miles, fans have been speculating that she might turn up in Genoa City again.

Chapman’s last return took place in October 2020, and Gloria purportedly returned to Hollywood, though her sons were skeptical about her story. It took until December for more of the story related to the flashdrive to come out, which appears to place perpetual schemer Gloria in the middle of a mystery involving money being siphoned from Newman Enterprises and stashed in an offshore account.

Not only are Kevin and Chloe on the case, but Phyllis, having overheard Kevin’s urgent voicemail to Michael on the matter, sensed a way to get back at Newman’s CEO, Victoria, and began fishing for information as well. Bottom line: it’s all about to go down and no doubt Gloria’s boys will be looking to her for answers on what kind of hot water she’s got herself into this time. We can’t wait!

Stay tuned for Judith Chapman’s return date, and in the meantime, check out photos of Gloria’s history on Young & Restless in our gallery.

– Candace Young

Great news, fans, we will be seeing a familiar face in Salem beginning February 2! On Sunday, January 3, Jaime Lyn Bauer announced via Facebook that she had already taped scenes and would be returning to Days of Our Lives in February. “I shot six shows for Days of Our Lives in beginning of December.”

The actress, who has held the role since 1993 and also played Lorie Brooks on Young & Restless, went on to talk about the new health protocols and shared, “With two tests at the beginning of each work week and one test every day after that. You come into the building, test then go back out and wait in your car until your test comes back negative and then they wave you back in.”

Since Bauer was last seen on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 when Laura arrived in Salem to take Abigail ( her granddaughter) to Boston for treatment, following the fallout of her D.I.D., things appeared very different when shooting scenes. “Rehearsing your lines with another actor happens over the phone. Once you are called to your set, your [face-covering] can only be taken off once you are on your set and doing your camera rehearsal.”

Getting all glammed up for the scenes was very different for her as well. She reflected on the “strange new world of Hollywood” by explaining, “We come into the studio already having done our own makeup and hair (to the best of our ability) as we can only be in a makeup or hair chair for 15 minutes! And they set timers!”

The actress’ return dates could change but she did give some tentative ones for fans to keep an eye out for Laura. “The shows begin airing on February the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th and 11th.” Read Bauer’s Facebook post in full below to hear what else she’s been up to.

Headwriter Ron Carlivati revealed to Soaps.com some exclusive 2021 Days previews, but while we wait to see what brings Laura back to Salem this time, open up our gallery and view photos of other Days of Our Lives actors who have recently returned.

– Amy Mistretta