Plus, previews of what’s coming next! 

The holiday lights are going up, the shopping’s getting frantic and we’re all trying to figure out how the days are going by so fast. So if you didn’t quite have time to keep up with your favorite daytime news last week, don’t worry, we’re here to catch you up on all the happenings of the soap world! Whether you love The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital or The Young and the Restless — or all of the above —  this is your one-stop shop to find out what’s going on.

The Bold and the Beautiful

Lately, The Bold and the Beautiful seems to have put Brooke and Deacon on an unstoppable collision course that’s sure to set off the fireworks. But what if Ridge beats his wife to the punch and turns to someone sure to drive Brooke crazy? That might just lead to an explosion you could see from space!

• Jacob Young doesn’t hold back as he discusses whether or not he’d ever return as Rick.
• Bill’s been sitting on the backburner for too long, but there may just be a hook-up waiting for him that could set Bold & Beautiful on fire!
• Krista Allen may already be killing it as the new Taylor, but in real life, she’s doing her best to save some adorable lives.

In this week’s soapbox, Candace gives Bold & Beautiful credit for doing an amazing job of build-up. She’s been waiting with bated breath to see Brooke’s reaction to Ridge throwing Hope out of the cabin and for the long-time-coming return of Taylor to the mix. Plus, she says the Deacon and Sheila are to die for — even when they aren’t being super evil.

Days of Our Lives

The wedding-day reveal that Abe is not, in fact, Lani’s father sent aftershocks throughout Salem. But it’s not just the characters on Days of Our Lives who were hit hard by the news. Portrayers James Reynolds and Sal Stowers sat down recently to talk about the revelation, and they did not hold back!

• A MarDevil’s work is never done, and it looks like this one is set to unleash another blast-from-the-bad-guy past on Salem!
• A year after his crushing loss, Stephen Nichols pays a touching tribute to someone he still holds near and dear in his heart.
• Billy Flynn stepped out of Chad’s shoes for a moment to share why this Christmas will be extra special for him and his wife.

Lori is wondering in the Days of Our Lives column how it took Lucas a week to get to Sami, but she got to Salem during a commercial break. Plus, she’s pretty sure that Philip’s disappearance is the most interesting thing to happen in his storyline, and, as much as she’s been enjoying the MarDevil antics, it was nice to have a little respite from them.

General Hospital

Let’s face it: Peter is the gift that keeps on giving — whether you want him to or not! But that gift might finally be reaching the end of its life as General Hospital may have just dropped a massive clue about who will be the one to finally put an end to him. And it’s someone we’d never even thought of!

• Still mourning, Maurice Benard shared the gift that his late father left him that will last a lifetime.
• We learned that a legendary General Hospital vet is back in Port Charles and back on contract, and we couldn’t be more excited!
• Laura Wright pulled back the curtain to show us what it’s really like to work with Carly’s long list of enemies.

In this week’s General Hospital column, Dustin sees a glimmer of hope when it comes to Peter — or at least when it comes to his demise! On top of that, Willow finally seems to have something interesting to do once more, and he’s happy to see Laura and Martin back together, though he’s hoping Cyrus stays away!

 The Young and the Restless

In a Soaps exclusive, Melissa Ordway chats about what the future holds for Abby and Chance now that the missing Chancellor heir is back in Genoa City. Plus, she shares the words of wisdom that she offered her TV husband, Conner Floyd, when he first joined the cast.

• Young & Restless besties of Christmas past shared some holiday spirit and flashed us right back to the ‘90s in the process.
• Celebrate 16 years of Jason Thompson’s in daytime, from breaking out of Gap commercials (spot him if you can!) to playing Billy Boy Abbott.
• Our hearts go out to Jess Walton (Jill), as she’s suffered not just one, but two devastating losses this holiday season.

Candace is getting a little tired of watching Chance cry about throw pillows and the slice of life scenes we seem to be getting nearly every day. Not even Nick and Phyllis’ breakup did much to ramp up the drama on the show, and she has a few thoughts to offer on Billy vs. Adam round 24 in this week’s Young & Restless column.

Juicy Extras

• Catch up with As the World Turns‘ Jon Hensley and join us in finding out what’s kept him busy since last we saw Holden.
• Eden Riegel gives Soaps an exclusive peek at what to expect with the All My Children primetime reboot, Pine Valley.
• When Guiding Light‘s Michael Zaslow passed away 23 years ago, we lost one of daytime’s greats. Soaps looks back at his legacy and honors the man who made Roger Thorpe a villain for the ages.

Coming Up…

Now that you’re all caught up on what went down last week, here’s a few previews of what’s coming up next!

• Taylor’s back in town, but not everyone is happy with the news. As Ridge and Steffy celebrate, Brooke turns to her sis to vent. While Katie is certain Taylor’s just a minor speed bump, Brooke admits she isn’t so sure in this week’s Bold & Beautiful spoiler video.
• Kate may be devastated to learn that remains recovered from the river are Philip’s, but that’s nothing compared to the shock that she walks into. And when John tries to convince Ben and Ciara not to trust “Dr. Evans,” MarDevil takes matters into her own hands in the Days of Our Lives weekly spoiler video.
• Chelsea shares a touching reunion with Connor, but other Genoa City residents might be feeling more lukewarm about her return. Just check out Adam’s reaction when she asks if he missed her in this week’s Young & Restless spoiler video.

And finally, catching up with with some of our favorite soap stars from the shows we lost had us feeling nostalgic, so we put together a gallery of As The World Turns soap stars then and now. Take a breather from the hustle and bustle of the holidays and find out what’s happened to Oakdale’s finest.