Days Of Our Lives
Alison Sweeney Talks Her Emotional Final Tape Day At DAYS, How The Door Is Left Open For A Return, Her New Book Scared Scriptless on Access Hollywood Live!

Courtesy/AccessHollywood.com
Alison Sweeney (Sami, DAYS) was a guest on Access Hollywood LiveĀ today promoting her new novel in stores now Scared Scriptless! While speaking with hosts Billy Bush and Kit Hoover, the subject of Sweeney’s departure after nearly 22 years from Days of our Lives was discussed.
In an emotional moment as Alison was recounting what went down on her final tape day at DAYS, Kit asked her if she was scared or nervous about moving on with her career which did not include playing SamiĀ to which Sweeney answered: āIām not scared. I’m sad, but I know that I will miss Sami. And I will miss my friends and the family that I have at the DAYS set⦠Theyāre my family and Iāve been doing it for almost 22 years.ā
As to how the show will be writing off Sami, Alison confirmed again that the door will be left open for a possible return down the line should she want to at some point return to the soap opera:Ā āYes, the door is open. Thereās potential.Ā And I hope I come back ā I would love to.ā
Beyond the Gates
53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Announced: ‘The Young and the Restless’ Tops With 18, ‘Beyond the Gates’ With 16

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) today announced the full list of nominees for the upcoming 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, and it was CBS daytime’s The Young and the Restless and broadcast television newest soap opera, Beyond the Gates that racked up the most nominations with 18 and 16, respectively.
The full reveal on Tuesday follows the announcement of several major categories including Lead Actor and Actress on Monday via Extra and Entertainment Tonight and The View today revealing Daytime Drama Series and more.
The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmys ceremony is set to take place on Friday, October 30 at the historic Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California.

Photo: CBS
In a statement, Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS expressed, āWeāre proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television, As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.ā
“Each year, the Daytime Emmy Awards celebrate the creativity, passion, and dedication that drive this vibrant community of storytellers,” said Rachel Schwartz, Head of the Daytime Emmy Awards. “Congratulations to this year’s nominees, whose work continues to entertain, inspire and connect with audiences every day. We look forward to celebrating their remarkable achievements in Hollywood this October.”
The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of genres, including daytime dramas, talk series, entertainment news, culinary, adventure, instructional and legal/courtroom programming.
This yearās Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Gold & Silver Circle Inductees, and ceremony host will be announced at a later date.
Now below, check out the nominees in the daytime drama, talk show, entertainment news series and creative arts categories and congratulations to all!

Photo: JPI
Outstanding Daytime Drama Series
Beyond the Gates
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
Stacy Haiduk (as Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives
Karla Mosley (as Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates
Michelle Stafford (as Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless
Heather Tom (as Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful
Tamara Tunie (as Anita Williams Dupree), Beyond the Gates
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
Eric Braeden (as Victor Newman), The Young and the Restless
Steve Burton (as Jason Morgan), General Hospital
Scott Clifton (as Liam Spencer), The Bold and the Beautiful
Thorsten Kaye (as Ridge Forrester), The Bold and the Beautiful
Christian Jules Le Blanc (as Michael Baldwin), The Young and the Restless
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
Linsey Godfrey (as Sarah Horton), Days of Our Lives
Camryn Grimes (as Mariah Copeland), The Young and the Restless
Beth Maitland (as Traci Abbott), The Young and the Restless
Trisha Mann-Grant (as Leslie Thomas), Beyond the Gates
Amanda Setton (as Brook Lynn Quartermaine), General Hospital
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
Sean Dominic (as Nate Hastings), The Young and the Restless
Timon Kyle Durrett (as Bill Hamilton), Beyond the Gates
Michael Graziadei (as Daniel Romalotti), The Young and the Restless
Roger Howarth (as Matt Clark), The Young and the Restless
Mike Manning (as Bradley “Smitty” Smith), Beyond the Gates
Lawrence Saint-Victor (as Carter Walton), The Bold and the Beautiful
Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series
Braedyn Bruner (as Emma Scorpio-Drake), General Hospital
Al Calderon (as Javier Hernandez), Days of Our Lives
Alice Halsey (as Rachel Black), Days of Our Lives
Giovanni Mazza (as Gio Palmieri), General Hospital
Ambyr Michelle (as Eva Thomas), Beyond the Gates
Arielle Prepetit (as Naomi Hamilton Hawthorne), Beyond the Gates
Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series
Jasmine Burke (as June Hughes), Beyond the Gates
Jeff Kober (as Cyrus Renault), General Hospital
Eva LaRue (as Natalia Rogers-Ramirez), General Hospital
Christopher Sean (as Paul Narita), Days of Our Lives
Ray Wise (as Ian Ward), The Young and the Restless
Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
Beyond the Gates
The Bold and the Beautiful
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital
Outstanding Directing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless
Outstanding Casting for a Daytime Program
Beyond the Gates
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless
Outstanding Daytime Talk Series
3rd Hour of TODAY
The Drew Barrymore Show
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Live With Kelly and Mark
TODAY With Jenna & Friends
The View
Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host
Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin & Ana Navarro, The View
Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show
Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall
Jennifer Hudson, The Jennifer Hudson Show
Sherri Shepherd, Sherri
Outstanding Entertainment News Series
Access Hollywood
Entertainment Tonight
Extra
Outstanding Daytime Personality (Daily)
Mona Kosar Abdi, Derek Hough & Terri Seymour, Extra
Cassie DiLaura, Denny Directo, Kevin Frazier, Rachel Smith & Nischelle Turner, Entertainment Tonight
Scott Evans, Zuri Hall, Kit Hoover & Mario Lopez, Access Hollywood
Star Jones & Corey Jovan, Divorce Court
Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program
Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood ā An Entertainment Tonight Special
Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter
Variety & CNN Actors on Actors
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Working In the Theatre
Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Daytime
Beyond the Gates, Episode 103
Have Guitar Will Travel World
The Kelly Clarkson Show Episode 5033
Let Frankie Cook,ā Getting the Band Back Together
Macyās Thanksgiving Day Parade
Outstanding Technical Direction and Video for a Daytime Program
Beyond the Gates, Episode 104
The Bold and the Beautiful,ā Episode 9511
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Paradeā
The Jennifer Hudson Show, ā Episode 4041
Macyās Thanksgiving Day Paradeā
Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup for a Daytime Program
Beyond the Gates, Episode 103
General Hospital, Episode 15719
The Kelly Clarkson Show,ā Episode 5033
The Young and the Restless,ā Episode 13273
So, what do you think of the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy nominations? Who are you happy to see receive a nomination and who do you think was snubbed? Weigh-in via the comment section.
Beyond the Gates
53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Lead Actress Drama Series

Monday on Entertainment Tonight, the second set of nominations for the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced which included the highly-coveted Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series ā Actress andĀ Outstanding Daytime Talk Series.
ET followed suit after Extra announced the nominees, as previously reported, in the Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actor and Outstanding Daytime Talk Host.
Now, five leading ladies of the soaps are vying for the gold for Lead Actress and the category marked the first-ever nominations for CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates when two actresses made the final cut. Only General Hospital is not represented among the actresses this year after Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) took home the trophy last year.

Photo: NATAS
THE FIVE LEADING LADIES OF THE SOAPS ARE …
The 2026 Lead Actress nominees are: Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives, Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates, Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless, Heather Tom (Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful, and Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree), Beyond the Gates.
This marks the first Daytime Emmy nominations for Karla Mosley and Tamara Tunie. In addition, this marks the first-time in her career that Stacy Haiduk had received a Lead Actress nod after two Supporting Actress nominations.
Meanwhile, Michelle Stafford had previously won 3 Emmys – 2 for Lead Actress and 1 for Supporting, but this recognition makes it her 11th overall nomination.
Heather Tom currently is tied for the most all-time Daytime Emmy wins with One Life to Live alum and General Hospital guest star, Erika Slezak. The B&B star has 19 nominations throughout her career.

Photo: ABC
DAYTIME TALK SERIES
In the Outstanding Daytime Talk Series category, the nominees are: 3rd Hour of Today, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Live with Kelly and Mark, Today with Jenna and Friends and The View.
āWeāre proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television,ā NATAS president and CEO Adam Sharp said in a statement on the nominations. āAs the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.ā
The rest of the nominations will be revealed tomorrow on Tuesday July 14 starting on The View and then the full list of nominees in both the main and creative arts will be released by NATAS. The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are slated for October 30th in Hollywood, California.
So, what do you think about the women who are vying for the Lead Actress Daytime Emmy? Happy with who got in? Who do you feel got snubbed? What do you think of the nominees for Daytime Talk Series? Weigh-in via the comment section.
Beyond the Gates
‘Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026’ Live on the Michael Fairman Channel

It’s Daytime Emmy nomination week, and as previously reported things kick-off on Monday, July 13 when Entertainment Tonight (7pm ET) will announce the nominees for Lead Actress category and Daytime Talk Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. In addition on Monday, Extra (7pm ET) will reveal the nominees for Lead Actor and Daytime Talk Host.
On Tuesday, The View (11am ET) starts things off with their announcement of Daytime Drama, Entertainment News program and Outstanding Daytime Personality-Daily. That is followed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) full reveal of all the categories beginning at 12noon ET/9am PT on their website and their official social handles on X and Instagram.
Then, Tuesday night at 8pm ET/5pm PT join Michael Fairman as he hosts his 12th annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026 live on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel where he will chat with some of the just announced nominees as we celebrate the hard work of the men and women in front of the camera who will be going for gold.
WHEN ARE THE DAYTIME EMMYS?
This year, the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be handed out on October 30 in ceremonies in Hollywood, California (Venue yet to be revealed). At that time, as like last year, both the major categories and creative arts will be presented. There is no word yet on a broadcast partner for the annual celebration of daytime programming, or if it will soley be streamed on NATAS’Ā watch.theemmys.tvĀ and various apps and platforms.
WHO WILL BE APPEARING ON THE DAYTIME EMMY NOMINATIONS SPECIAL 2026?
Throughout Tuesday, keep an eye on Michael Fairman TV’s social media handles on X, Facebook and Instagram, for updates of who will be expected to appear on our live show.
If you have a question or comment for one of the nominees, or on the nominations, we can encourage you to join us in the live chat on Tuesday night.
So, who are you hoping lands a nomination from Beyond the Gates, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, The Bay, The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless? Let us know via the comment section. More Tuesday!
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I hope if she ever returns as a guest or full time they write something far better than what they have done with the sad, pathetic, pointless return of John Black…Days is still the best of the four remaining soaps but its starting to loose some steam…imo…hopefully that will change with Eves arrival and Kristens return…could care less if Rafe, Jordan and Ben left town…this trios storyline is very slow and going nowhere for me…nuBen wouldve made a better Chad!!! Come on American producers and writers…check out Britains Coronation Street and see how a great soap is done…you can see it on youtube if not in your area…bet our soaps would do better if they were more like Britains character driven close to real life plotlines!!!…IMO!!!
I have a feeling Sami will be back occasionally for guest visits around the holidays, etc. And then in about five years or so, she’ll come back full time.
I’m glad that they are leaving the door open for her to come back for special events and things down the road.
I want to know what item she stole from the Days set! They never addressed it in the clip (that I saw).
Haha!
Okay what did she take from the set that she wasn’t supposed to? Gave the tease and never got back to it– LOL. But the sounds of it she isn’t slowing down any, but after 22 years of doing anything, don’t blame for wanting to take a break. Have no idea how they write her off since the story is so far in the future– maybe they will have her become a PI and her first case is to track down Bo, but she disappears along with him.
I certainly wish her all the best. She is a dynamo with being a busy career woman, wife and mother!! With regards to the character of Sami I feel differently. Maybe its because she was written as such a one note psychopath under Jim Reilly’s pen…I have never been a big fan of the character. The last year or so I have liked her the most I ever have. But with that said…I feel it is a good time for her to go. The show is in good shape with both veterans and newcomers and her exit will not leave a gaping void. No doubt she will be back next year in some form for the shows’s 50th. We will see her again!
I Will miss Sami only! Good luck AS! I defiantly think when Sami comes back we will finally get a LUMI REUNION!!!!!! Sami belongs with lucas not her obsessive stalking sick rapist
Good story. Now, give us stories of Kassie DePaiva’s debut and the return of Eileen Davidson!!
I’m not a huge fan of Sami Brady; but, I admire Ali Sweeney a lot. She is very driven, focused, and successful. I admire those qualities in a woman. I also admire how honest she appears to be about being a working wife and mother. I wish her the very best in her future endeavors!
Glad they will leave the door open for her to visit periodically. She was a central character, and seeing her once in awhile will add a spark and pizazz when the show needs a little bit of a boost. I hope the show will still be on in 5 years, and it would be fine to have her come back, but one never knows if the show will be on that long, and also Allison may be on to many other projects and venues. With all of the said, I wish Allison all of the best she seems to be a dynamo!