Bold and Beautiful Comings and Goings: Matthew Atkinson Is Returning As Thomas! (EXCL)
The Forrester mansion is about to get a little more crowded: Soap Opera Digest can exclusively confirm that Matthew Atkinson is returning to Bold and Beautiful as Thomas Forrester! Atkinson, who took over the role of Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and Taylor’s (Rebecca Budig) only son in 2019, will be back on screen in early September.
French Twist
Atkinson left the show in March 2024, after Hope repeatedly declined Thomas’s marriage proposals, causing him to end their relationship and jet off to Paris with his son, Douglas. Both character and actor returned in June of that year, and he shocked his family and friends (and, of course, Hope!) when he revealed that he was now engaged to wed Paris Buckingham. Atkinson’s short-term comeback wrapped in July, when Thomas and his wife-to-be headed back to France. (There is no word yet as to whether Thomas will return solo, or will be accompanied by Paris, played by Diamond White.)
In an interview with Soap Opera Digest at the time of his last run, Atkinson marveled at the impassioned interest from the B&B audience about Thomas and Hope’s romance and his own status with the show. “I just never expected the response that I’ve gotten and we’ve gotten from the fans, especially [with] Thomas leaving,” he said. “I can’t speak for all the fans, but there’s a wealth of people that are either really, really upset that Thomas is gone for a period or really sad. [They] reach out and they’re like, ‘Hey, when are you back? When are you back? When are you back?’ That just speaks to their care for this character. And that means a lot to me because I would have fun doing this in a vacuum, but it’s really great to have a response that shows that these people care about what you’re doing. And so it’s just been so much love from so many fans that comes out in so many different ways.”
The actor hinted at his return on Instagram on Monday when he posted a video of himself playing cornhole outside of what appears to be B&B’s new studio; the soap recently left its longtime home at Television City for Sunset Las Palmas Studios. “Second time’s a charm,” read his caption. B&B fans flooded the comments to express their hope that Atkinson was back filming.
Since Thomas’s last appearance, a lot has changed in the dynamics of those nearest and dearest to him: namely, Hope has gotten engaged to Carter, and his parents have gotten engaged to each other — though the odds of them making it to the altar have decreased greatly since Ridge has realized how deep his feelings for Brooke still run. Meanwhile, Paris’s mother, Grace, is in a heap of trouble after being busted for faking Liam’s “fatal” brain tumor in a desperate bid to bilk Liam’s father, Bill Spencer, out of a million dollars to cover the gambling debts she’d been saddled with by her ex, Reese Buckingham.
Are you excited that Thomas is coming home — and do you want him to inject a major wrinkle into Hope’s engagement to Carter? Let us know in the comments below!
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