News
B&B's Crystal Chappell & Joanna Johnson Talk About Pride, Self-Acceptance & Their New Storyline!

Photo Credits: L Bohm & K. Hutchins
In a brand new feature interview out today from On-Air On-Soaps Michael Fairman for FrontiersLa.com, The Bold and the Beautiful’s Joanna Johnson (Karen) and Crystal Chappell (Danielle) talk candidly about Joanna’s thoughts post-coming out publicly a few weeks ago, working together as the soaps first ever same-sex on-screen couple, and the difficult journey it can be for one to find self-acceptance in a world that is often still filled with prejudice. The piece entitled: The Bold and the Beautiful Lives of Joanna Johnson and Crystal Chappell also appears in the current L.A Pride issue of Frontiers LA on newsstands now in the Southern California area. Here are some interesting and compelling excerpts below!
Joanna on how she turned her thinking around after feeling she could never have the kind of life she was portraying on TV when she first was on B&B: “For me, once I quit acting, that was really freeing. I became more out with everybody that knew me. And as a writer/producer, I talked about my wife and my family all the time. There have been times where I have felt, “If they know I am gay, will they think I can’t write straight?” Certainly, I have had those thoughts, but mostly, I think I project my fears onto other people. I put what I think they are thinking into their heads. Growing up, I have learned that most people really are not giving me much thought. [Laughs] In their own lives they are not sitting around and thinking, “Hmm. That Joanna Johnson is gay,” when in fact they are not thinking about me at all. I felt that less so as an actress in the business, and it probably contributed to why I stopped acting, because it was very hard for me to hide out. In those days, I didn’t feel like I could come out and it wouldn’t hurt my career, and possibly embarrass the Bell family, although they have always been incredibly supportive. I did not want to hurt the show in any way. But, I often felt the pressure when I would go to Europe. The American soap press does not ask a lot about your home life. They are pretty respectful. It’s more of a friendly relationship. But when I would go overseas and be asked, “Who is your boyfriend?,” I felt like I was not being authentic and lying. I would be thinking, “If they knew I was gay, they would stone me in the streets.” I think that pressure, besides the other pressures that come along with acting, which are to be beautiful and sexy as a woman, and the object of desire when you are an ingénue or a younger actress, was a lot of pressure for me. That was because of my own self-loathing. It was my own doubts and prejudice of myself that got in my way. It was hard for me to have that as a mirror out there in the world.”
Crystal on any trepidation taking on another gay role on a daytime soap, after her last run as Guiding Light’s Olivia was filled with forehead touching and knuckle play with her love interest, Natalia (Jessica Leccia) : “I have perfected the art of forehead butting and knuckle touching, by the way. [Laughs] A role is a role, to be honest, as an actor. So I don’t have an issue with playing another gay character. Obviously, the story is important. I have talked about being an ambassador for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, and that is an organization close to my heart. I want these young people to grow up represented and see themselves on TV. So when the opportunity was presented to me, there was no trepidation at all. In terms of my previous experience with playing Olivia on Guiding Light, it’s a different time and a different company. I know what I was told and I feel very good about the story. It’s about a loving family. They have their issues and they have a child together. I am just happy to be a part of it. Just for the record, I am very proud of Joanna. It is a brave thing to do. During my time in the Otalia storyline, I got so many letters from people sharing their stories with me and Jessica Leccia [Ex-Natalia, GL]. These were stories they had never shared with their own families. There was this self-loathing and trying to come to terms, and being afraid to lose the people they love for being who they are, and so I admire Joanna for being so brave.”
Joanna and Crystal on if they feel they are clicking on-screen as a couple yet: Joanna: “Crystal is fine and fantastic, and I am the nervous, giddy, silly one. We had to take these pictures together and have them on the mantel in our scenes. We had to have our arms around each other and pretend we are at the Grand Canyon. I was all nervous and at one point Crystal goes, “I can feel you pulling away.” [Laughs] And I go, “Oh, I am so sorry. It’s bringing up a lot of my issues.” [Laughs] Crystal: “Joanna is a great actress. I was honestly relieved. [Laughs] Yes, she is a beautiful woman, but I was like, “Oh, she is really good.” It’s a joy. I feel like I am sitting back watching this thing unfold. I don’t know where it’s going, but it’s exciting.”
Make sure to read the entire interview at Frontiers LA.com and let us know what you think of Joanna and Crystal’s comments on their new story and the struggles one endures when coming out, as well as all Crystal has done as an amazing friend to the LGBT community, and Joanna’s personal touching journey.
I excited to see their story play out, hope to more on CC & JJ on screen in the near future. Too bad the magazine only for SoCal.
Crystal Chappell and Joanna Johnson are both beautiful and talented actresses !!! This is an amazing storyline by amazing actresses by an amazing show … Thank You Brad Bell and TPTB at The Bold and The Beautiful !!!
What a journey this has been for both actresses- both on and off-screen…I look forward to watching the story of Dani and Karen unfold…
Watching the final GL episodes from the soapclassics.com I ordered, it is annoying to see Olivia and Natalia head butting and touching fingers. Thank God the soaps doing it after are more brave and are showing more.
Blake, the only reason that CC and JL did all of those head butting and touching fingers scenes in that final year of GL is because Ellen Wheeler (GL’s Executive Producer during GL’s final year on the air) is a Mormon and does not approve of the LGBT community.
Many daytime fans have screamed bloody murder should any other daytime show hire her or Christopher Goutman (As The World Turns’ last Executive Producer) to help run those shows. These two people have been branded as daytime dramas’ show killers and for good reasons. Which is why I’m glad no other daytime soap ever hired either of them after GL and ATWT went belly up (although there were rumors that Goutman might have gone to Y&R but thankfully Maria Arena Bell laughed that rumor off and said NO WAY!).
I thought Wheeler was all for the couple and CBS didn’t want them going very far. I’m all confused lol.
But I don’t put it past Wheeler, look at the s*** she did to GL in it’s final years. It should have been cancelled before she did the Peapack BS and ruined so many characters, couples, and storylines!
I’m so excited to see Crystal back on my screen and even more so that she’s playing another gay character. I can’t wait to see how the Danika storyline unfolds!
The scenes yesterday with Bill thinking Dani was coming on to him were hilarious!
Their storyline will be short and sweet if they are remotely involved with the characters Ridge & Brooke. Their are too many good actors who have been tossed aside because of these two characters, I could list them for you but it would take two pages.
Where I can get a copy of this magazine?
I think CC and JJ will tell a story of deep love for family and themselves. I thank B&B for allowing a true love story play out and I look forward to spending my afternoon watching these two awesome actress!!
News
Susan Flannery and Ian Buchanan Visit the Set of ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’; Daytime Emmy Winners Reflect on Show Then and Now

The one and only Susan Flannery (ex-Stephanie Forrester) dropped in to see her former co-stars on The Bold and the Beautiful at their Sunset Las Palmas Studio in Hollywood, along with her good friend and another B&B co-star Ian Buchanan (ex-James Warwick) on Tuesday October 20.
It was the first time in a very long time that The four-time Daytime Emmy winning actress was reunited with Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke), Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy), executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell, Jennifer Gareis and even her TV sister, Alley Mills (Pam, B&B now Heather, GH) showed up for the day too!
Flannery played the Forrester matriarch from 1987 until 2012. It was then that after playing the part of Stephanie for 25 years that Susan made the decision to retire from acting and in one of the most heartbreaking sendoffs, passes away from lung cancer in Brooke’s arms in November of 2012. During her B&B tenure, Flannery won 3 of her 4 Daytime Emmys, the other being for her first soap role as Laura Horton on Days of our Lives back in 1975.

Photo: Bell-Phillip TV
As for Ian Buchanan, he played Dr. Warwick, psychiatrist, from 1993 to 1999. He returned for other runs in 2014 and 2017. Buchanan took home his Daytime Emmy in 1997 for his work as James. Soap fans also remember, Ian as mobster Duke Lavery on General Hospital, and Dr. Greg Madden on All My Children,
Both Susan and Ian shared their thoughts on coming back to The Bold and the Beautiful, for Susan 14 years later since he exited and for Ian close to 9 years since his last appearance below.
Susan said, “It’s definitely like coming home in a way, even though it’s not the same studio. It’s really lovely to see old faces and old faces with new faces. It takes you back mentally. You start remembering what it was like back then, even things like how much your feet would ache at the end of the day from wearing six-inch heels. It was just lovely to be back and see everybody.”

Photo: Bell-Phillip TV
Ian expressed, “It’s a mind trip, you know. When I was sitting looking at the big Forrester set, it was like stepping back in time, almost. It takes you back mentally, and you start remembering what it was like when you were here before.”
“It’s lovely to see all these people again, even if you don’t know everybody,” explained soap vet Buchanan. “There’s something really special about coming back and seeing the show and the people who have been part of it for so long.”
So, happy to see Susan and Ian with some of their former castmates? Do you think Stephanie and Brooke is one of the greatest frenemy stories in daytime history? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Beyond the Gates
Tabitha Brown and Kandi Burruss Guest Star on ‘Beyond the Gates’ for Dani’s ‘Welcome to Your Life’ TV Special; What Could Go Wrong?

As previously announced, Beyond the Gates is bringing chef, author and actress Tabitha Brown and Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer and actress Kandi Burruss to Fairmont Crest in a special episode of the CBS daytime drama airing Thursday, October 22.
In the episode, Dani’s (Karla Mosley) best friend Pamela Curtis (Cady McClain), arranges a “Welcome to Your Life” television special for her. As it turns out, Brown will play the show’s host, Tia Allen, while Burruss takes on the role of Dani’s first modeling agent, Kalista Kilroy, who turns the celebration of her life into a bad trip down memory lane.
Dani’s parents Anita and Vernon (Tamara Tunie, Clifton Davis), sister Nicole (Daphnee Duplaix), and daughters Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla) and Naomi (Arielle Prepetit) all join the show to celebrate and support her but also witness how things so south. Also appearing in the episode are Molly Figueroa as Tatum Stewart and fan-favorite Anita Williams (Tunie) impersonator Jackie Tyree!

PhotoL JPI
THE 411 ON TIA AND KALISTA
Speaking with TV Insider, about their soapy experience in Fairmont Crest, Tabitha Brown previewed about her host with the most, “Tia is very professional, but she’s a girl’s girl. She is a protector of women and wants to tell their stories in a beautiful way, but she also wants to make sure they’re seen in a very good light.”
However, Burruss previews that Kalista arrives with a score to settle. “She’s spicy,” shared the recording artist. “I always love playing somebody that has come to start trouble. It’s always fun to play a villain of sorts, but Kalista feels like she’s been done wrong and she’s hurt by what she feels has been done to her. So Kalista is stirring up trouble, but she feels justified putting Dani on blast. Kalista is ready for some payback.”
Beyond the Gates is produced by CBS Studios, as part of the CBS Studios/NAACP Venture, in partnership with P&G Studios, a division of Procter & Gamble. Created by head writer Michele Val Jean, executive producers include Val Jean, Sheila Ducksworth, Julie Carruthers, Tracey Thomson, Leon W. Russell, Derrick Johnson, Anna Saalfeld and Lela Coffey.
Beyond the Gates is broadcast weekdays on CBS (2:00-3:00 PM, ET/1:00-2:00 PM, PT) and is available to stream on Paramount+**.
So, looking forward to this special episode of Beyond the Gates when Dani is put on a blast during a blast from her past and Welcome to Your Life TV special? Share your thoughts via the comment section.
Days Of Our Lives
‘Days of our Lives’ Reveals Kyle Pryor Cast as Dominic Marino

For months now, Days of our Lives has teased the character of Dominic Marino. In recent weeks, viewers learned that Marino is on the down low working with Sami Brady’s (Alison Sweeney) apparent fiancé ‘Dante Vitali (Franco LoPresti), and that he is the never-before-heard-of child of Stefano DiMera (the late Joseph Mascolo) and Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall)!
Up until now, the Peacock streaming soap opera has never revealed his face, but that all seemed to change on the Tuesday, October 2o episode of DAYS. In story, Dante met Sami’s parents for the first time, Roman (Josh Taylor) and Marlena.
He shows them a photo of Dominic, which he happened to have on his own phone and even commented he kind of looked like he could be Marlena’s son. The photo, which has quickly made it around Soap Twitter/X, revealed that British-born actor Kyle Pryor is the man in the photo and eagle-eyed viewers actually located said photo on Pryor’s Instagram.

Photo: Peacock
Deadline revealed Pryor started taping at the end of 2025 and will first be seen in the role, on air Monday, November 2. In addition, Days will celebrate its 61st Anniversary with two special episodes featuring Dominic’s arrival, as well the returns of Tony and Anna DiMera, played respectively by Thaao Penghlis and Leann Hunley, on Friday, November 6 and Monday, November 9.
Those in the know, are are that Pryor previously held series regular roles on Australia’s Home and Away, and the UK’s Hollyoaks and guest starred on Emmerdale. In an ironic twist, Pryor appeared in the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand which is the same action series his apparent TV brother, Dan Feuerriegel (EJ DiMera), once appeared in before coming to DAYS.
So excited to see Kyle Pryor take on the role of Dominic Marino as Days of our Lives sets its anniversary story to kick-off with is arrival in Salem? Share your thoughts in the comment section. And in case you missed our latest conversation with Conner Floyd (Chad DiMera) he weighs-in on how Dominic’s appearance will shake things up in Salem. You can check that out below.
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