News
Celebrity Justice: Y&R's John Driscoll files Restraining Order Against Fan!
Photo Credit: PatrickMcMullen.com
Now here is something we don’t like to see, especially to one of the nicest guys we know in the business! The Young and the Restless, John Driscoll (Chance) has filed a restraining order against a female fan who, according to TMZ.com, allegedly came up with some horrific lies about John, that nearly destroyed his relationship with his fiancee and jeopardized his career!
According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Driscoll claims the fan began telling people she had multiple sexual encounters with John … and he even fathered her child. Then things spiraled out of control — so John resorted to drastic measures. John stated, “To silence these rumors, to gain credit back from both colleagues and family, I willingly took and paid for the lab testing on a paternity test which knowingly came back negative with a 0% match.”
According to the docs, John believes the woman “clearly is not rational” — and fears she will harm either himself or his fiancee. John wants a judge to keep her at least 500 yards away at all times, and in addition he wants her to pay him back for the $119 paternity test.
So soapers, I guess the lesson learned here is: Fandom is one thing, but not at the expense of people’s real life relationships and their jobs in this very difficult economy and turbulent times we live in.
News
‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Heather Tom on Working with TV Son Crew Morrow: ‘I’ve Always Wanted to Play an Overprotective, Overbearing Mother’ (Exclusive)
In an ironic twist of fate, and only in the soaps, The Bold and the Beautiful’s Heather Tom’s (Katie Logan) on-screen son is played by Crew Morrow (Will Spencer), the now 21-year-old son of her former TV brother on The Young and the Restless, Joshua Morrow (Nick Newman).
For those who have followed the six-time Daytime Emmy-winning actress’ career, Tom began on Y&R back in 1990 as Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and Victor’s (Eric Braeden) daughter Victoria Newman. She played the role until 2003. Four years later, she joined the cast of The Bold and the Beautiful and has been there ever since.
Next month, at the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards, Heather might add two gold statuettes to her collection with nominations for Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series (which would be her record-breaking 7th for an actress), and one for being a part of B&B’s writing team.
Photo: JPI
WHICH MORROW IS IN THE ROOM?
In a new livestream conversation on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel, Heather recalled her reaction to seeing Crew Morrow on set when he started on B&B over two years ago, and pointed out the uncanny similarities between her TV son and her former TV brother.
“I just can’t even tell you how genetics is weird,” explained Tom. “Because it’s like they are the same person; the cadence and his voice and the way he laughs. When Crew was on the shows for the first couple of months, it would take me out of the scene. I would be like, ‘Oh, my God! It’s Joshua.’ It’s crazy. It’s so wonderful to have him. I love having him there. We’re so lucky to have Crew. I think he’s a wonderful addition to the Spencer family. I love that Bill (Don Diamont) and Katie’s son is on the canvas in a real way.”
In recent weeks, fans of The Bold and the Beautiful have seen a different side of Katie in regards to her son, Will. She simply does not approve, and does not trust Melissa Dylan (Sydney Bullock) as far as she can throw her. That puts a wrinkle in the mother/son relationship.
Photo: JPI
HEATHER TOM IS THRILLED THE CHARACTER OF WILL SPENCER IS ALL GROWN-UP
“Honestly, I’ve been waiting for this story since Will was born,” exclaimed Heather “To be like the overprotective, overbearing mother, momma bear, I love it!”
As for Katie’s attitude. which many feel may need an “attitude adjustment,” Tom has it all figured out on just how she is tackling her scenes! “I have all kinds of justifications for it,” reveals the multi-talented star.
Photo: JPI
KATIE SEES ALL SORTS OF RED FLAGS WITH DYLAN
“So. it’s not just Katie being the b-word,” proclaims Tom. “It’s that Will, her son, whom she loves and supports so much, has been constantly saying about Electra (Laneya Grace), ‘This is the love of my life. She’s broken my heart. I love her. All I want to do is get her back.'”
“So I think Katie could be like, ‘Okay, well, Electra’s a little flighty, but my son loves her, so I’m going to try to support that relationship,” explains Heather. “In addition, Will has never told his mother, ‘I love Dylan,’ at all. I think Katie is thinking of telling Will, ‘You should run, not walk, from this girl who seems somewhat obsessed!’ I don’t know where they’re going with the Electra/Will/Dylan triangle, but I think Katie’s very focused on Dylan for a multitude of reasons.”
So, do you like seeing Heather Tom as Katie going into overprotective momma bear-mode, now that the series has a major young triangle between Electra/Will/Dylan? What do you think about the fact that Heather has been a long-running scene partner with father/son across two different soaps in Joshua Morrow and Crew Morrow? Let us know in the comment section, and in case you missed it, check out our full conversation with Heather below.
There was never any doubt that in watching the riveting and emotional scenes on General Hospital which featured Finola Hughes as a PTSD-driven and mentally tortured Anna Devane, that when the climatic moments in Anna’s story aired, that we would not be singing the praises of Hughes. Once again, Finola showcased why she is one of the soap opera genres greatest assets and actresses.
In the key scenes, Anna has had a complete breakdown as she has lured and cornered Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) on Mount Emerson, and even thought through how she would kill her and cover it up, all thanks to hearing the voice and seeing a dead man, Peter August (Wes Ramsey). It’s visions of Peter that keeps egging Anna on to pull the trigger on Britt while in her delusional state.
Before Britt realizes that Anna trapped her in meeting her in Mount Emerson, she is very confused as to why she was all the way out in the boondocks to talk about what happened to her brother, Cassius Faison. However, Britt soon learned that what Anna was about to do is personal, and not professional, as she pulls the gun on her.
Courtesy/ABC
ANNA FIRES HER GUN IN GAME-CHANGING MOMENT
When Jason (Steve Burton) shows up to save the say, he tries to talk Anna off the ledge, begging her to not shoot Britt and make one of the greatest mistakes of his life. When Jason figured out Anna felt she needed to kill anyone related to Cesar Faison, he made her think twice, because that would mean, she also would need to end the lives of two of Maxie’s children, James and Bailey Lu.
Anna can’t stop seeing hallucinations of Peter pushing her to shoot Britt. Suddenly and completely overcome, Anna fires bullets straight in the direction of where she sees Peter as she declares this all must end tonight.
After the shots are fired, Anna realized what she had done and just sobbed and shook. It was a devastating and heartbreaking moment for longtime General Hospital fans to see the beloved Anna Devane, super spy, so lost. Anna explained to Jason, after he was able to disarm her, how she was being pushed to kill Britt by her visions of Peter.
EMMY-WORTHY SCENES FOR 2027
In another hankie-inducing moment, Anna just grabs Jason and breaks down in his arms. If these weren’t Emmy-worthy scenes, we don’t know what is, and it must be remembered by Hughes, General Hospital, and hopefully the voting body of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) when Emmy submissions and voting get underway in 2027 for the 54th annual Daytime Emmys.
From everything we noted above, to the sheer brilliance of her work, Michael Fairman TV names Finola Hughes, this week’s Power Performance of the Week.
Now let us know, do you agree with our pick of Finola? Were you moved to tears during the gut-wrenching scenes? Should Finola include these scenes in an Emmy submission in 2027, should she decide to compete for Lead Actress gold? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
General Hospital
RATINGS: ‘General Hospital’ Shows Most Gains in Total Viewers Week-Over-Week and Up in Key Demo
The ratings are out for the week of August 24-28 for your favorite broadcast television soaps, and it was ABC’s General Hospital which added the most total viewers and planted itself firmly in third place in its battle with Beyond the Gates in the key demos of women 18-49 and 25-54.
According to Soap Opera Network, all daytime dramas were up year-over-year, and General Hospital was joined by The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful with gains in their total audience viewership, while Beyond the Gates was only slightly off pace for the ratings week.
Let’s take a look at what had viewers tuning-in, starting with General Hospital, who added +79,000 viewers. While still under the 2 million viewers mark (which they can hopefully return in the coming weeks) their overall tally was an average of 1, 935,000 tuning-in, while still up year-to-year +136,000.
GENERAL HOSPITAL
In addition, GH while actually down from the previous week in the 18-49 ratings share, they still out performed Beyond the Gates for third place. However, GH was firmly in third place for the 25-54 ratings share.
The stories that were featured for the week included: Anna’s (Finola Hughes) PTSD and struggle with painful memories tied to Cesar Faison, and her concocting a plan to get rid of Britt (Kelly Thiebaud), Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) recording Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna) threatening her, and later running into a severe threat from Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) regarding Kai (Jens Austin Astrup) and Drew’s (Cameron Mathison) shooting, and Drew enlisting Ava (Maura West) to gain leverage over Jack, which resulted in Ava drugging him, while Drew went snooping for the evidence Brennan had against him.
Photo: JPI
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Y&R remained in the top spot amongst all the soaps once again with 3,062,000 tuning in, and up +35,000 for the week, while year-to-year still showing strong gains at +231,000 viewers. However, while Y&R remained #1 for the 25-54 ratings share, it fell to #2 in the 18-49 ratings share behind The Bold and the Beautiful.
In story for the week, Nick’s (Joshua Morrow) sobriety in rehab was a focus, as was Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) hitting the Jabot office couch and having sex for the first time, and Lily (Christel Khalil) and Billy (Jason Thompson) battling over control and ownership of Chancellor Industries.
Photo: JPI
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
B&B is continuing to be inch closer to Y&R for the top spot, separated by a little more than 300,000 viewers. For the ratings week, the series posted a total audience of 2,719,000 adding +31,000 eyeballs overall, and like Y&R, is up year-to-year in its performance.
The CBS soap now , now in its 40th season is +217,000 from the same time last year. In the key demos, The Bold and the Beautiful was in the top spot for the women 18-49 ratings share and number two for women 25-54.
In story, the major threat to Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Finn (Tanner Novlan) and Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor) and Daphne’s (Murielle Hilaire) marriages continued as Steffy and Carter swore they would not tell their spouses that the two had a drunken hook-up. But as viewers know now, Steffy is pregnant!
Photo: CBS
BEYOND THE GATES
Beyond the Gates tallied an average of 1,611,000 total viewers for the week, up +72.000 year-over-year and down slightly in tune-in for the week losing just -36,000 viewers. The CBS soap came in fourth place in the key demos for the week behind General Hospital, with whom they are often trading places for the third spot.
In story, after Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett) was released from the hospital, Hayley (Marquita Goings) stuck to her plan, doubling down on poisoning him and even getting caught in a major lie or meeting with Randy (Maurice P. Kerry), as Vernon (Clifton Davis) may be on to her machinations.
The ratings report is generated from Nielsen (Live+Same Day Big Data + Panel) for the week of August 24-28, 2026
So, what did you think of the performance of General Hospital for the ratings period? Which daytime drama has you most likely to tune-in each day? Which has you tuning-out? Let us know what’s working, or not working for you in story, via the comment section below.
‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Heather Tom on Working with TV Son Crew Morrow: ‘I’ve Always Wanted to Play an Overprotective, Overbearing Mother’ (Exclusive)
‘General Hospital’s’ Finola Hughes Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’
RATINGS: ‘General Hospital’ Shows Most Gains in Total Viewers Week-Over-Week and Up in Key Demo
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Gee there’s some crazy people out there. Good for him that he got the restraining order.
This is a very cautionary tale for both entertainers & their mostly respectful behaving admirers/followers.
Michael, how did this situation get out of control with John & this “fan”? Also, how did this situation negatively affect John’s job prospects?
Thank you for this informative report, Michael!
Wow how awful, some fans sure go off the deep end. I hope this woman gets help for the sake of her baby.
What a whack job! Glad he took matters into his own hands! Could have affected his job and relationships.
Reminds me of when the actress who plays Tina Lord on OLTL had a crazy stalker in the 80s!
Driscoll doesn’t have a job. He left the role of Chance in May.
I agree with Michael Fairman, John is one of the nicest actors in daytime soaps. I have had the pleasure of meeting and talking with him at soap opera events. He is so kind, warm, friendly, humble and a real gentleman.
It is a real shame that this lady has caused him such un-necessary grief. Obviously, she needs professional help ASAP!
Apparently those of you who have left comments here have not read Sandy’s comment on TMZ.com or you would be well aware by now that this story clearly has two sides. If you would take the time to read it you would know that what John is reporting as a fan causing this problem for him is not correct!! John & this woman had a relationship for several months. The woman did not know John was cheating on his girlfriend at the time. She was told they had broken up, but found out later as she was seeing him. She was not a fan who just made things up as John would like the public & his fan base, family & friends to believe. It is time for John to just admit the truth to his girlfriend, family, friends & fan base. Also as reported he never showed up for the court hearing. Why do you think that is? He filed his court papers with false information and had no records to prove what he was claiming, it was thrown out of court people!!! There are also photos of John and this woman together on several occasions and friends have said they were seeing each other.
The truth of the matter will never be told by men like John who cheat, once a cheater always a cheater as Sandy stated. For the sake of her baby, John’s ex-friend will not speak out but instead act as a classy woman and protect her baby from all of his drama he & his girlfriend have created with their lies to try and protect John’s reputation from being tarnished. People please always remember there are two sides to every story reported. So before you jump on someone’s band wagon, even someone you think is very nice ( remember nice people do reckless things ) first think twice. So sad how the public thrives on negative and reckless reporting such as this!!!! Shame on you John for having filed such a false claim with the court. I too had once thought you who such a nice gentleman. Your actions have proved what I once thought to be terribly wrong!
Deb, I am really in shock. The paternity test is negative regarding him being the father of the baby in question. Obviously, that does not mean he did not have a relationship with this lady in question though.
I beleived he was the victim being stalked by a deranged fan. I guess John is a good actor, especially off screen.
I retract my above comments. After seeing the description of this Rebekah Booth lady in the court papers filed, there is no way John would have been romantically involved with a lady weighing 180 pounds. Nothing against plus size ladies, but I have seen the ladies over the many years that John dated and brought to soap opera events back to his days on Guiding Light. None of these ladies were even close to being a plus size. They all had model figures.
This comment made by Sandy is just the opinion of someone who possibly knows John.
After reading her comments and seeing the court papers filed, I beleive this Rebekah is a deranged fan. John was probably nice to her, she was a former neighbor and fan of Y&R. John is nice to everyone. Unfortunately for him, this Rebekah person made up her own fantancy and decided to make him her boyfriend in her obvious deranged mind.
Amanda, first let’s get the facts correct here! Rebekah was not 180 lbs when she & John were seeing each other, she was a mere 120 lbs. And who has seen her on a scale lately to comfirm this rumor of now being 180lbs after having a child. Shall I remind everyone of Kate Hudson’s weight when she gave birth and afterwards! Also Amanda, John alledged many things in his court papers but failed to show for his court date to prove his allegations, why do you think that is? If he had proof of his allegations and was so extremely concerned about his safety & Beth’s don’t you think that court date would have been a priority to him?!! And furthermore how do we know the paternity test was negative? Did John show to court with the results to enter as evidence? I think not. Too many allegations here are making no sense & I personally believe John was advised to stop what he was attemping to do in order to save his relationship with Beth. Someone obivously with more knowledge of the law must have advised him to stop while he was ahead, hence the court threw out his request for failure to appear. Also please read the comments again on the second page at Tmz.com & also welovesoaps.com and you will read for yourself the other women who are now speaking out about John. Also on John’s facebook page he said the media had leaked information that was completely false. Only info leaked was the court papers. Now as of today John has removed that page from his facebook. Interesting don’t you think? Men who protest too much usually have the most guilt. Deranged is a very strong word to use against someone you have never met, shame on you Amanda. I hope you never experience what Rebekah is going through and read that people who don’t know you are using such words to assassinate your character!!!
In response to Amanda’s comment about the impossibility that John would be romantically involved with a female who weighs 180 pounds, you have no idea what you are talking about. I have personally hooked up with John (and yes, when he was in a relationship) and I”m here to tell you – he doesn’t care what size you are. In fact, I know of another girl he’s messed around with who was over 200 pounds. He may take these model figure ladies to events, but in reality, size really doesn’t matter to him. I can actually prove his infidelity over the years but I dont’ care enough to take it to the press. So before you judge a woman’s size and whether or not a “soap star” (lame) would go for someone a bit larger, think again. I think in actuality, he prefers a girl with some meat.
Deb & Bridgett—If I am wrong, I stand corrected. I read the court papers filed, which is on TMZ and basically came to my conclusion based on what I read. I apologize if I offended anyone. Thank you.