Days Of Our Lives
Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn On Alison Sweeney's Decision To Depart DAYS!
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Days of our Lives Deidre Hall (Marlena) and Drake Hogestyn (John) who were just part of a major press tour throughout Canada to promote the Days of our Lives Better Living coffee table book chatted with the Edmonton Journal.
During their conversation about longevity on the soaps, the upcoming exit of series star Alison Sweeney (Sami) was discussed. Deidre said the cast is “devastated” that she is leaving. Sweeney has been with the show for more than two decades!
Deidre, who plays Sweeney’s on-screen mother also expressed: “When Alison Sweeney joined the show, she was such a wide-eyed kid and has taken over sort of the lead role on the show and works every day, and her scenes are long and complicated and demanding and she has just said, ‘My kids need me now, I can’t keep doing it.”‘
“You can’t get that time back,” added Drake Hogestyn. “All my kids, I watched them grow up in the bed. I’d come home and they’d all be asleep, I’d kiss their foreheads, I’d get three to four hours of sleep, I’d wake up and I’d kiss their foreheads again.”
The ever popular duo also said that they understand that Alison wants to be there for her kids, and they note she can still return to the show.
So, what do you think Alison Sweeney departing DAYS will be an incredible loss for the NBC soap? Do you hope she eventually will return? What do you think about Deidre and Drake’s thoughts on Ali’s decision to focus on her family? Comment below!
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Steve Burton Watches Back An Early Scene as Harris Michaels From 1988 & Talks on His Return to DAYS
As previously reported, look for two-time Daytime Emmy winner, Steve Burton (ex-Jason, GH, ex-Dylan, Y&R) to reprise his role as Harris Michaels in an upcoming story arc on Days of our Lives beginning on March 20th.
While Burton started his soap opera career on DAYS back in 1988, he didn’t return to the part of Harris Michaels until last year’s limited series streaming on Peacock, Days of our Lives: Beyond Salem 2.
Now heading back to the mothership for the first time in almost three and half decades, Burton sat down with his former GH co-star and current DAYS castmate, Wally Kurth (Ned, GH and Justin, DAYS) in a conversation for the DAYS You Tube Channel.
During the chat, Wally showed Steve an early scene of his with none other than Charlotte Ross, who at the time played Eve Donovan. Make sure to check out Steve’s reaction to his younger soap opera self.
Then, Burton shares the reason the believes Harris is coming back to Salem: “For redemption because of the bad things he did; he wants to make it right.”
Photo: Peacock
What fans recall from Beyond Salem 2, is that Harris was seemingly brainwashed by Megan Hathaway (Miranda Wilson), who was hoping he would pull the trigger on Hope (Kristian Alfonso) at their wedding. Instead, it appeared that Hope and Harris developed feelings for each other, or did they?
Now, with the return of Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope along with Harris in the equation, is the story to bring down Megan Hathaway once and for all? Stay tuned.
Check out the Burton and Kurth conversation below. Then let us know if you think Harris will help Hope and Bo bring down Megan via the comment section.
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Maybe Sami can take one of those long cruises with Doug and Julie and make one or two guest appearances a year…lol
Doug and Julie would probably ABANDON SHIP! lol
HAHA! I know I would!
Lol I would too, I am actually very happy to see the character of Sami leave and completely support AS in wanting to spend time with her children!! Investing in their lives is far more important that days could ever be. Good decision Ali
Ali has alway been my fav. I will miss Ali I have alway watch to see what she was up to. Days will never be the same.
I’m disappointed to see her go, but the show will survive. And she can always return!
Exactly!
for DAYS fans to know this…. is nothing short of amazing
DOOL clearly deserves : and the Emmy goes to….
“for the 2nd year in a row”
which collectively speaking… for the entire CAST…. to feature…. all that
I love Ali
Still cannot believe this casting news, but glad to hear the door remainsopen for the actor’s return. Still, the character of Sami seems necessary to the Salem stories DAYS spins. Would they consider a recast at all?
No no recast, it will not work. Alison will come back, in the near future.
she’s such a pivotal character… that it seems inevitable.. that they would recast…
i’d definitely, let the re-cast know… that’s its just that… for AS to return… she deserves that
i think it’d be so interesting… to showcase… Sammi in a new direction… and the only actor… who could pull this off…. with more than enough… panache… would be, Kelly Sullivan
Now, Kelly Sullivan playing opposite the actor who plays EJ Dimera would be an incredible pairing!
Days of our Lives will be just fine without AS. There are a lot of talented people staying and coming back! I wish AS all the best!!!
i’m still in awe… of the entire cast… heck… even Jenn and Daniel… still bite… but.. i’m over dissing them so much with two powerhouse, women… coming aboard and back…. Kassie Depaiva and Eileen Davidson… Eve and Kristen…. DOOL has , it would seem… all their bases covered….. except for Bo… which I clearly wish… Puhlease… bring Ted King in for that role… this would be through the roof story… for Kristian Alfonso (Hope)… who has been doing amazingly well… with Daniel Cosgrove’ Aiden. Aiden is so “mesmerizing” that they play so well off of each other… not having to… Read more »
Talk about boring-Dannifer-ugh! Tired of being “sold” Dannifer. Shawn (Daniel) deserves a more exciting woman to play opposite him.
I’ll miss Allison playing Sami on DOOL but i respect her decision to leave.I’m sure the door will be left open for her to return.Plus since Allison reportedly last tapes in May she can spend the Summer with her kids and then after that she might reconsider been on the show.As for Sami’s exit i think it’s going to be spectacular and create stories for the remaining characters.
“…My kids need me now”
Tears : I applaud Women – I cherish your commanding presence : You Rule
First and Foremost: I’ll never… never…. ever… stop thanking Alison Sweeney… for all her devotion…to Days of OUR Lives… for keeping that show… abreast and afloat.
Alison Sweeney – who turned her star with all points bulletin… stratosphered her Talent.
———–
I absolutely LOVE that picture, above: with Dr. Marlena and John Black
she is that classic beauty… very reminiscent of old Hollywood.
and John… SO handsome
I have been a huge fan of the show since 1982. Since then, DOOL has lost Deidre, Drake, Kristian Alfonso, Peter Reckell and Eileen Davidson, just to name a few. Although most have returned, the show survived their departures. I HATE to see Alison leave more as much as everyone else, but I think she is making the right decision. Family should always come first. I hope the writers realize quickly the storylines that are working with the current cast and the ones that aren’t. After AS’s departure, the show needs to have a new lead character firmly in place… Read more »
They do need to show a more mature and softer side of Theressa…and i think she’ll become more sympathetic…at least briefly after Liam uses her and makes a fool out of her in his attempt to break up Jen and Danial…Days is currently casting a black actress…but for once id like to see other minorities used more too such as Asians, American Indian ect. More diversity could bring in more viewers…time to bring Kate and Roman back together…Stephano needs to be all alone!!!
I’m glad… whew! that the writers’ are going this route… with Liam… doing the evil deads… and in the long run… makes Theresa machinations.. seem tame.. and shed more light and layers with empathy… from the characters in Salem… and , Oye! the audience…. I find Jenn Lilly… portrayal.. nothing short of epic and ranks right up their… with knocks it out of the park… each and every time…. i’ll use the word for her again…. uninhibited…. she has a natural ease about her… that is ever present. ——– a little tidbit about JJ…. and, ahem… Paige I don’t like… Read more »
“…If Sami is leaving, can we at least have Carrie or Belle back?”
I couldn’t agree more….
It still smarts… that Carrie was let go…. she could be the New lady love… and, the pinnacle… and forefront… for the Brady Women…. ie: Marlena… passing the torch to Sammi… and with her exit… bring back Carrie…. she was on fire with Rafe… and this would steam up Rafe character… big time! for all the puzzle pieces Jordan has stirred so far… they need to jump start Jordan story pronto.
I still haven’t lost interest in the Jordan/Rafe pairing
Ugh. No. Please no more Carrie. The character is wretched. Impossible to watch. Exceedingly boring. Incredibly irritating. Please. No More Carrie! She’s even worse than Abigail and that’s saying alot!
Carrie? Absolutely Not! No Way! She’s an absolute change-the-channel character.
Sami and Alison will be missed. She played Sami to the hilt! I hope they pair EJ with a new love interest. Nothing against the young woman who plays Abby, but I just don’t see the chemistry.
I think you’re outnumbered.
Please fire Josh Taylor as Roman Brady, He is a horrible actor. Please bring back Wayne Northrop, HE is a better actor. I cannot believe Josh Taylor, has been on Days of our Lives since 1997, Why havent they fired him. his acting sucks, all he does is yell yell. lmao.
You do know Josh first started on the show in the late 1970s as Chris and played that role for many years even when Wayne was playing Roman…Josh did leave to join primetimes Hogan Family…i thought it odd they have him return and play Roman after many of well remembered him as Chris…Wayne might be retired and not want to return…he did return as a different character and i thought that was a stupid move!!!
I always see Josh as CK, which makes me miss Pete and Melissa. Did ML (Pete) fall off the face of the earth? Whatever happened to Michael Leon?
I think DAYS should drop Josh/Roman and bring Josh back as CK for their 50th anniversary. They should also convince WN to return as Roman!
I WILL MISS ALISON SWEENEY SO MUCH. PLEASE PLEASE BRING BACK VIVIAN ALAMAIN, DAYS MADE A HUGE MISTAKE IN FIRING LOUISE SOREL.
Love her too but they have enough villain characters on Days to the point that there are days when Days isn’t enjoyable. Shhhh . . . sometimes I skip some shows because the villains are overdone. Yeah, I know all soaps have villains. But it’s too much on days. Soaps are supposed to be a guilty pleasure – Days doesn’t always provide that pleasure!
They understand. Its a trade off, the money for a certain level ofliving but limited time with ur kids.
Sweeney hasn’ t stopped working. As soon as she said she was leaving Days, General Hospital honchos got in touch with her – she’s working for them – behind the scenes. Personally, I think that’s a slap in the face to Days and her fans. If she wanted to merely cut back on hours but was interested in working behind the scenes – why didn’t she ask them at Days? She’s also going to be making a Hallmark movie(s).
I’m not a big Ali or Sami fan. No disrespect to Ali or her fans; but, I don’t see the hype. Maybe it’s the character, but she’s too cartonnish and over-the-top. Ari (Nicole) and Eileen (Kristen), in my opinion, have lead actress material. Especially Eileen Davidson. Many layers.
I’ll miss Alison but the show will go on – they have the most talented cast in DTTV. What the DAYS actors have to go through in order to be under budget…you have to be a strong actor to survive on DAYS!
I’m STILL tickled pink to have Drake back on DAYS as John, Salem feels like home again!
Love that Drake is back too. Current story line has me nervous – hope they don’t let him go again. He’s a mainstay on Days. Days also has too many vile characters to the point that I’ll skip a day here or there – it’s just too much. I know it’s a soap but Days is overdoing the hate/revenge theme. Now they’re bringing “Kristen” back – another reason to skip even more days.
Nice talking to you!
I am sorry to see Ali go. She will always be Sami to me! But she has her priorities straight! Her kids come first. She will never be given this time with them again unless she takes it! Thank You Ali for entertaining us as Sami and my best wishes for you and your family!
I, too will miss Ali as Sami! I do understand her wanting to spend time with her kids because as you all know, “Just Blink” by Kenny Chesney says it all! They will be grown up and she will miss so much. I do hope she and Days keep the door open for her to return from time to time; when her Countess W job permits it! What makes me so sad is that she and James Scott have such an on screen chemistry and EJami has finally gotten together after almost 8 years, what will the Days writers do… Read more »
love dool
will miss SAMMI
I think Sweeney’s a fraud. She said she was leaving Days to spend time with her kids. Then what do I read? She took a behind-the-scenes job with General Hospital. She’s also doing a movie(s) for Hallmark. Why didn’t she just say she wanted to do something different? It’s really a slap in the face to Days and to her fans. If she wanted a behind-the-scenes job, why didn’t she ask the folks at Days of Our Lives? Am very disappointed in her.
Can you say “and the daytime Emmy goes to Allison Sweeney”