Soap Opera Digest July 4, 2022

Morgan Fairchild, who began her television career with a 1973-77 run as SEARCH FOR TOMORROW’s Jennifer and last appeared in daytime as DAYS’s Anjelica in 2017, appears on GH this week as HOME & HEART hostess Haven de Havilland, who welcomes Sasha to her show to talk up Deception products. Fairchild was delighted when her team let her know GH had her in mind for the role. “They said they had this part and thought I’d be good for it and I was looking forward to the chance to work with everybody,” she says. “And you know, Joan Rivers and I were the first two celebrities that had product lines on QVC back in the late ’80s, so I’m familiar with the genre and with how it all works. I felt…

Susan Batten, best known to soap fans as ONE LIFE TO LIVE’s Luna Moody (1991-95 and subsequent appearances as a ghost) pops up on GH this week as home-shopping star Flora Gardens. The actress, who has remained close friends with her former OLTL colleague, GH Executive Producer Frank Valentini, says, “I’ve been writing for a while and during Covid, I think we all felt like we needed a little soul replenishment. I told Frank, ‘I miss acting. I miss that whole energy of being part of a collaboration of actors and I feel like I want to do that again. If anything comes up that you think might be fun for me to do, just let me know and I’ll do it.’ He called me and said, ‘Okay, there’s this character…

Just as EJ and Belle are heading upstairs to make love, Sami arrives at the DiMera mansion with divorce papers. “It hits EJ [hard],” says his portrayer, Dan Feuerriegel. “Try as he might to tell everyone that he’s fine and over her, you just can’t stop that depth of a relationship and automatically switch off those feelings. He’s hurt and conflicted with it all and deep down doesn’t want [a divorce].” When Sami announces she wants EJ to sign the papers so she and Lucas can get married, “it’s an arrow through the heart,” admits Feuerriegel. “Lucas is kind of his archnemesis. It’s unfathomable that she would go down this route.” Not to mention the fact that EJ believes Lucas is the person who kidnapped Sami and pinned it on him. “In…

After Quinn uncovers Eric’s affair with Donna, the Forresters discuss the fate of their troubled union. “Eric basically says the marriage is over and he wants to be with Donna,” reveals Rena Sofer (Quinn). “John [Mc-Cook, Eric] and I really worked on this because we really wanted to give it justice. The reason Eric could not get over Quinn having an affair with Carter was not the affair itself; it was how she fell in love with him. That made Eric recognize that while he loves Quinn, she should be with Carter.” Knowing that Carter is planning to wed Paris, Eric makes a suggestion to Quinn. “Eric tells Quinn to stop the wedding,” shares Sofer. “It just makes sense, especially since he’d rather be back with Donna. However, let me make…

Nikolas is in for a rude awakening when Esme demands something from him in exchange for her silence about their night of passion. At the Metro Court Gardens to review the terms of his divorce with Scott and Ava, Nik is trying his best not to tip off Ava about his guilty conscience. Notes portrayer Marcus Coloma, “For Nikolas, it’s almost like a floating feeling, where you’re halfway dead and halfway alive. There is 100 percent a sense of dread because it feels like each day is borrowed. He’s in that place of, ‘How much longer?’ He knows the devil could come grab him at any moment. He is hoping for the best, but I think he knows that the Grim Reaper is just right behind him.” Enter Esme, who is shocked…

Now that Victoria and Ashland have decided to start their own media company, it’s full steam ahead to make it happen. Ashland is especially optimistic about their future together. “He really feels like they’ve gotten past all of the blame and the anger and the hatred of his blatant lie, and this is a fresh and new beginning for the two of them,” says Co-Executive Producer/Head Writer Josh Griffith. “Ashland loves Victoria so much that he feels this is a match made in heaven and it’s all coming together. He couldn’t be happier.” Ashland returns to their hotel suite to give Victoria an update on his search for office space. “Ashland is excited about finding a building that was previously owned by a media company that didn’t make it,” Griffith shares.…