Days of Our Lives
News (Page 19)

TV Guide Network will be airing a behind the scenes look at Days of Our Lives numerous times over the next several days.

The special will include interviews with cast members Deidre Hall, Kristian Alfonso, Martha Madison, Alison Sweeney and Brandon Beemer (pictured).

There will also be a set tour with Bryan Dattilo.

Upcoming airings will be:
Tuesday, Dec 18 3:00 PM
Wednesday, Dec 19 9:00 PM
Thursday, Dec 20 2:00 PM
Saturday, Dec 22 1:00 PM
Monday, Dec 24 10:00 PM

Alison Sweeney recently covered both The Biggest Loser and Days of Our Lives with Boston Now.

BN: Do you think if you had had a show the Biggest Loser to watch while you were a teenager it would have helped you deal with your weight issues?
AS: That's a good question. When I was a teenager I didn't really know or talk about what was healthy. We are living in a bubble in California, where there are Whole Foods and Trader Joes and restaurants that serve super healthy meals everywhere, but if you travel the rest of the country, it's the way that it was for me as a teenager...

I used to think that pasta was a super healthy meal. I just didn't know any different. I fell for the whole low fat cookies routine - I'd have a whole box and think, "well, they're low fat."

That's what got me into so much trouble and that's why we are so lucky to have a show like Biggest Loser now, because it gives us not just the heartfelt stories of people who have gotten themselves into situations they don't know how to get out of, it gives us their successes in every show, and also it's giving people the tips they need to do it at home. Obviously not to the scale of the show, and not as quickly we do it on The Biggest Loser, but it's important.

BN: How has it been on Days of Our Lives since (new producer) Ed Scott came in?
AS: Oh my gosh, it's fantastic. We're so lucky. He's such an amazing producer. He has been around the block a time or two with Young and the Restless and he came in here with...I would say "guns blazing" but the truth is he came in with his orange sneakers blazing.

He made such an impression on the set from the moment he got here with his enthusiasm and his work ethic and his strive for perfection, and that's what I admire so much because that's my mentality. I can't give up on anything in my life and if I came to work thinking, "oh fine, it's just another day," I'd rather do something else.

He wants it to be right, he wants it to be good, he wants it to be perfect. He is someone you can look up to and someone you can work hard for.

Read the full interview with Sweeney now.

Coming up next week on Days of Our Lives...

• Stephanie admits to Cordy that Ford raped her.

• Marlena and Hope (Kristian Alfonso) discover a photograph of a woman in John's belongings.

• Stefano and Rolf discuss the latter's patient.

• Shawn (Brandon Beemer, pictured) confesses to Bo that Phillip allowed him to find the gun.

• Belle is jealous when Phillips and Chloe go out.

Matthew Florida is psyched to be on Days of our Lives.

He says he does have a hard time convincing fans that he's a nice guy in real life... but that winning the recurring role of campus rapist, Ford Decker was like winning the Oscar.

"Oh boy, was it ever. When I got the call back that I won, I was shocked,” Florida said. “It’s just great! This is an experience, and this couldn’t be a better first job. But I must admit, at first I didn’t know I was the rapist. I went from taking off my shirt to being a rapist real fast. Now, I have to get into the mind of a sick person to play this part.”

Read the full feature on Florida right now at Soapdom.

Nadia Bjorlin is back on Days of Our Lives. She recently spoke to Soap Opera Weekly about her return to the role of Chloe:

Soap Opera Weekly: Are you excited to be back at Days of Our Lives?
Nadia Bjorlin: I am. I really am. It's fun around here. I missed it.

Weekly: Were there are lot of happy reunions on-set?
Bjorlin: It was so much fun to see and be able to work with Jay (Kenneth Johnson, Philip) again. I'd seen him here and there while I was gone, but it wasn't the same.

Weekly: Will you give us a rundown of what you were up to since you left Days of Our Lives?
Bjorlin: The reason I left Days of Our Lives was because the pilot I did for UPN - Sex,Love and Secrets -  got picked up. Once they changed the title to that, I knew it was doomed. It sounded like a rip-off of Sex, Lies and Videotape. It was originally called Wild Life and was actually a good show, but it was on the wrong network and wasn't advertised well.

Nobody knew it was on the air. I did do some guest-starring things on other prime-time shows, like Jake in Progress and Out of Preactice. Then I did this quirky independent film called If I Had Known I Was a Genius with Whoopi Goldberg, Sharon Stone, Della Reese and Tara Reid. I got to meet Whoopi and Sharon, but I didn't get to do any scenes with them. Still, you sort of feel like, Wow! This is something, just to be working on something they're working on. That hasn't come out yet. I also did that fun, crazy movie Redline, which I really enjoyed.

Weekly: Is there anything different about being on Days of Our Lives this time around?
Bjorlin: I'm getting to work with people I hadn't gotten to work with before. It's funny, as many years as I was here, I never got to work with Deidre Hall (Marlena) or Alison Sweeney (Sami). I just had a little scene with both of them, so that's interesting. I guess now that Chloe is considered an adult, I'll get to have more scenes with the actual grown-ups.

That will be fun. Obviously, I love working with the people I used to and [who] I know, but it's also fun to work with new people, because you don't know what they're going to do in a scene.

As Days of Our Lives approaches the holiday season, here's a look at this week's episodes and story lines...

• Shawn (Brandon Beemer, pictured) and Belle receive an award at the Salem High School reunion.

• Lucas (Bryan Dattilo)is added onto the suspect list for shooting EJ.

• Steve admits to Kayla that he'd like to have a baby.

• Kate's gun is traced to a dealer in Cincinnati.

• Chloe makes her move to get closer to Philip.

• Sami (Alison Sweeney) confronts EJ about his baby monitor surveillance.

As we get closer and closer to 2008, here's what Days of Our Lives head writer Hogan Sheffer has to say about life in Salem:

"The year of 2008 will be one of romance and adventure in Salem," Sheffer recently aid. "Marlena (Deidre Hall, pictured) meets a mysterious woman who brings her stunning news and sends her on an epic journey."

Could that big news involve John? Maybe he's not as dead as everyone believes.

"What Marlena discovers about the past will bring down a sinister empire and change the Brady family forever. Old wounds heal, new love blossoms and the year goes on from there," Sheffer teased.

He doesn't update it too often, but Days of Our Lives star Josh Taylor posted a few weeks ago on his official blog.

In it, he talked about his recent fun on the show, while also congratulating a co-star on a recent new addition to his family:

I have enjoyed the fun, light comedy stuff that they have given Bo and Hope and Roman to do. Also the drug induced comedy stint that I was able to do with Bo. Peter Reckell (Bo) was a tremendous help and a good team-mate in those scenes.

By the way, Peter and his wife Kelly, just had a baby: 6 lbs. 9oz. All is well for them.

As Days of Our Lives fans know, Nadia Bjorlin made her return as Chloe Lane last week.

Her presence, of course, provided for an unfortunate surprise for Belle (Martha Madison). Here's what went down, in case you missed it:

Upon her return to Salem, Chloe accidentally bumped into Belle in an airport hotel; she immediately assumes that Belle is on her honeymoon with new husband, Shawn Brady (Brandon Beemer). But she discovers her mistake when Philip (Jay Kenneth Johnson) - Chloe's former flame - steps out of the room.

The shocking encounter was enough to get the wheels in Chloe's head turning, as she immediately places Philip in the hot seat.

"Philip spends the next few episodes trying to convince Chloe that nothing's going on," Bjorlin told the New York Daily News. "He says, 'We're just talking about Claire, but we keep it from Shawn to keep Shawn from feeling jealous.' Chloe doesn't buy it for a second. She's a smarter cookie than that."

As you can imagine, there's a lot trouble ahead for Philip and Belle, while Chloe herself is going through changes, considering the end of her fairytale marriage to Brady (Kyle Lowder).

"She's not the same naive, sweet Chloe,” Bjorlin said. “Even though Chloe has always had a bit of cynicism and sarcasm to her, it's been amplified since she went to live abroad, got married and is now divorced."

The Days of our Lives star added: “It would be easy to say, 'I'm back in town. I'm divorced. Now, I want Philip.' But we're not quite sure what Chloe's intentions are. She does instigate a little something with Philip, but then she realizes Philip wants nothing to do with her. He only has eyes for Belle."

Here's an inside look at this week's Days of Our Lives episodes...

• Ford and his malicious ways are stopped once and for all.

• Tony warns EJ to protect his son against Stefano (Joseph Mascolo).

• Philip fantasizes about Belle murdering Shawn.

• Lucas walks in on EJ and Sami (Alison Sweeney) kissing.