CHRISTINE BARTOLUCCI/ABC
Hello Again: Lynn Herring was thrilled to reunite with Brighton Hertford (ex-B.J.) upon the former child star’s return to GH.
“It is just so amazing how it went down,” says Lynn Herring (Lucy) of GH’s inclusion of Brighton Hertford (ex-B.J.) in the episodes memorializing Jackie Zeman’s Bobbie, who was B.J.’s adoptive mom. “The show truly honored the history and the loyalty of our viewers by seeking out this child, who is now a beautiful, full-grown woman. To me, it is a huge representation of what GENERAL HOSPITAL does best.”
Herring didn’t know until she was on set who would be playing the role named Angela Brighton in the script. “The weird thing was that I saw the name, and when I got the studio that day, Kristina Wagner [Felicia] came up to me in the hall by the makeup room and said, ‘This is the same name.’ And I said, ‘I know! What do you think?’ And then here comes this gorgeous, still-red haired, beautiful girl and she goes, ‘Lynn?’ And I went, ‘Uh-uh. No way!’ and we hugged. I can’t even put into words the feeling of seeing her again after all these years [Hertford last appeared on GH in 1994, when B.J. passed away]. She was only eight years old at the time and she remembers so much about those days. We sat and talked for a long time about everything — she remembered the smell of the stage, she remembered when Lucy [allowed] B.J. to drink nail polish accidentally and how upset I was. I said, ‘Oh no, I had no idea that I traumatized an eight-year-old!’ I said, ‘Did I warp you?!’ And she said, ‘No, no, I just remember you were such a good actress and you were so upset and I thought, “This girl is feeling terrible for me!” ‘ How amazing, that an 8-year-old could be so intuitive. But I’m sure she and her mom discussed it and she said it was pretend, but it stuck with her. I thought, ‘Oh, wow, that is just such a part of history for all of us,’ you know? But she was just so warm and sweet and to get to stand there and hug her in the halls all those years later, it sounds so silly, but it was like Jackie was there.”
The actress was even more impressed with Hertford after working with her. “She did such a good job,” Herring praises. “She was ready, fully ready for this emotional part that she played, and I think it was just beautiful. It was overwhelming, being with her and working with her again. It was a beautiful thing and a happy thing that helped take some of the sadness out of those days, because we knew we were honoring Jackie correctly.”
