“Ejami” fans might not be happy about the possibility of an EJ and Belle romance on DAYS, but Martha Madison (Belle) definitely is. “I love working with Dan [Feuerriegel, EJ],” says Madison. “He’s a talented guy, really smart and fun. I’ve always thought that Sami and Belle have such a great feuding dynamic, so doing something like this would provide a lot of good story. I’m also really excited to be put front and center for the first time in a long time.” Madison remembers back to when she and Feuerriegel first started working together. “It was when EJ was going through his trial,” she notes. “I thought, ‘They’re going somewhere with this.’ We both knew that, and we really tried to play that the whole way. So that it wasn’t such a shock when they finally kissed.” The pair has prepared themselves for viewer push back. “I told Dan the wrath of the ‘Ejami’ fans is going to be huge, that they’re going to hate me,” recounts Madison. “There’s no way around that. But the more they hate me, the better the story is. So I was like, ‘Let’s just make it worth it.’ If you’re going to scream my name, just make sure you spell it right.”
Photo credit: CATHRYN FARNSWORTH
Wally Kurth (Ned, GH) enjoyed his latest on-air musical performance when Ned accompanied Chase, who sang Brook Lynn’s song during Leo’s school fair. “Josh [Swickard, Chase] did such a good job, and he actually suggested that I play the guitar and sing along with him, sing harmony, and Frank [Valentini, executive producer] loved the idea. I thought it worked out great! I really like the idea that they’re doing something with Brook Lynn and Chase that’s [reminiscent of] the Eddie Maine/Lois Cerullo story,” the romance between his character and Rena Sofer’s Lois, which was hugely popular back in the 1990s, “where the female Cerullo gal has to talk the guy into being a singer and to go for it and to trust his ability, because that’s kind of what happened with Eddie and Lois. I told Josh and Amanda [Setton, Brook Lynn], ‘Have fun with it!’ I love Josh; he’s a good guy and I enjoy working with him. I get the feeling that he really likes working with Amanda and likes the storyline, and he’s done such a great job in his Nurses’ Ball performances, so he’s obviously got the chops to do a musical storyline!”
Cait Fairbanks (Tessa, Y&R) discovered she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Original Song, “Next To You”, which she shares with composer Brad Hatfield, from her TV wife. “I actually found out through Camryn [Grimes, Mariah] because she texted me that morning,” says the actress. “I was actually having a pretty bad time. My boyfriend and I weren’t feeling well, so we were mindlessly playing video games, when I got a text from Camryn that said, ‘Congrats!’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ but then, I kind of put two and two together, and I was like, ‘Holy s**t!’ because I didn’t even know I was submitted, but I guess Brad had done that, so I feel really lucky that he did that.” Despite the honor, Fairbanks is planning to take a break from music. “I’m want to spend time honing my skills right now and start fresh with a new project at some point,” she explains. “I’m so burnt out over the last couple of years with the quarantine, especially because I was just numb. Now that I have more joy, I want to just enjoy my life until I can tell myself, ‘Okay, I can do this now’, and start composing music again.”
THE PRICE IS RIGHT announcer George Gray was thrilled to appear on B&B for a number of reasons. “What’s great is, I’ve been [on the same lot for] 12 years now and over the years, people will come to visit and walk down the hallway and we’ll be chatting and they will stop dead in their tracks and say, ‘Wait a minute! BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL is right there?’ ” he relays. “It’s really great to see the excitement. I’ll say, ‘Yeah, they’re actually right next door to us. We’re neighbors.’ We’ve heard stories from the show’s stars where they’ll be in the middle of a very powerful, quiet take and then all of a sudden there is an eruption of cheers that will come through the wall and we’ll say, ‘We are so sorry. Obviously somebody just won a lot of money.’ ” As for his B&B experience, Gray says, “Everybody was so unbelievably nice, from casting to producers to stage managers to the director to publicity…. They made me feel so at home. I knew half the crew. Some have worked on PRICE before, so I got to say hi to everybody.”