BATTLE GROUNDS
When word broke of Rebecca Budig’s imminent comeback to GH as Hayden, her real-life neighbor and friend, Greg Rikaart (Kevin, Y&R), wasted no time in reinvigorating their long-standing Twitter battle. (For instance, in response to Digest’s web story announcing the news of her return, Rikaart tweeted, “Did they call security?”) Budig says that revenge will be hers — soon. “He has been texting me all the things that he’s been posting, but I have been so busy that I have not been able to respond appropriately,” she explains. “Besides, I’m on Instagram, and I mean, he’s still on Twitter. What is he, like, a dinosaur? To be totally honest, I sort of got off Twitter when I left the show [in 2017] because it was just too painful to see all the tweets. I thought, ‘Well, it’s probably better for my health to not even be on Twitter,’ so I sort of switched to Instagram, even though I think Twitter is an amazing way to connect and actually communicate with the fans and I may take it up again now that I’m going back. But I promise you: My revenge on Greg will be soon. Oh, don’t worry! As soon as I have time to unleash, it’s on.”
PASS THE BUTTER
B&B’s Adain Bradley (Xander) promises fans will see a new side to him in his upcoming film Butter. “It’s based on a book by Erin Jade Lange, who I met,” the actor says. “It’s a coming of age story about an overweight kid who, because he’s being bullied at school, says he’s going to eat himself to death on a live stream on New Year’s Eve. I play an American high school kid, who is in a completely different light than Xander, so I’m very excited about that. The film has a wonderful cast, including Jake Austin Walker of the upcoming D.C. series STARGIRL, and Jack Griffo of THE THUNDERMANS, so to work with my friends was just phenomenal. It was also a movie schedule, which was a different pace than B&B. I showed up to set one day and they said, ‘Hey, Adain, it’s going to be a really long day. We’ve got five pages to get through,’ and I said, ‘Five? That’s one scene for me over here!’ ”
BE MY BABY
Galen Gering (Rafe, DAYS) enjoyed reconnecting with Chrishell Hartley when she returned as Jordan. “She’s awesome,” he enthuses. “She’s always so fun and ready to go and work. There’s such a bright energy to her, which is nice. She’s funny, even though she’s had these really dour scenes. She’s always a joy to have around, for sure.” Jordan left baby David in Rafe’s care, which means Gering has been working with infants Dexter and Jaxton Ellis. “The babies that we’ve had have been so easy and agreeable,” he reports. “It’s been crazy. Like, what is with these kids? They’re always smiling and are so sweet. When the baby’s there, it’s awesome. I wish there was more of that. I think the important thing in the story, and we talk about it so much, is Rafe and this baby and having this relationship. Sometimes we have a baby in a crib that wasn’t a real baby, so basically I’m acting with this inanimate object. I feel like when a big part of it is the relationship with a kid that’s not really there, it’s kind of weird.”
WIN/WIN
For Beth Maitland (Traci, Y&R), this year’s Daytime Emmys was an event she shared with both her real and reel families. “My favorite part of the Emmys was celebrating with my dad and sister,” enthuses Maitland, who was up for Outstanding Supporting Actress. “It was beautiful having them there with me. During the ceremony, Peter Bergman [Jack] and his fabulous wife, Mariellen, sat behind me and he kept squeezing my shoulder with excitement. He was so adorable and supportive and kept telling me how proud he was of me. Tracey Bregman [Lauren] and I kept exchanging texts and throwing love bombs back and forth at each other, remembering Emmys past and thrilled to still be here! How in the world did I get so lucky to have friends like this?” Although the trophy in her category went to Vernee Watson (Stella, GH), Maitland still revels in her career. “We were all winners and the Emmys continue to be a celebration of the best of daytime, the best of our medium,” she points out. “We are the hardest-working talent in entertainment. I am so very proud to still be a part of this wonderful show, and this amazing community.”