News
Eileen Davidson Talks Auditioning for ‘General Hospital,’ Love of ‘Ryan’s Hope’ and High Praise for B&B’s Katherine Kelly Lang

Two-time Daytime Emmy winning star, Eileen Davidson shared many tidbits about her life on and off screen in the latest edition of Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart that dropped today on Tuesday, May 5.
Davidson best-known for her enduring role as Ashley Abbott on The Young and the Restless, the OG Kristen DiMera and Susan Banks of Days of our Lives, has also been featured in the cast of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, played Ashley on Y&R’s sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful and was a recast Kelly Capwell on the critically-acclaimed Santa Barbara. All that, plus numerous other TV, motion picture and book projects along the way.
Doing a deep-dive on Eileen, with Eileen, Budig and Rikaart hit upon some interesting moments in her career and upbringing. First, as it turns out, Eileen had a favorite soap opera growing up … and it was none other than ABC’s Ryan’s Hope.

Photo: CBS
Davidson shared, “I moved in with my sister when I was 16, 17. I was her nanny when she had her kids, and she was in love with Ryan’s Hope. So, she got me hooked on Ryan’s Hope, and by the way, Ryan’s Hope was brilliant. The whole cast was incredible and the writing. That was the show my sister watched. I would come home from school because I would be done by noon and we’d watch that together.
GENERAL HOSPITAL MIGHT HAVE BEEN SOAP HOME
Before becoming Ashley Abbott on The Young and the Restless in 1982, Davidson professed she was going out for many roles on ABC’s General Hospital. Eileen explained, “I had been auditioning for General Hospital, constantly. Marvin Paige was the casting director at the time. He was an incredible casting person, the kind that would call you at home and tell you to come in the day before and he’d work on (the audition) with you. He was very gruff. He was very scary, but he would work on it with me. He really wanted me on that show.”
“It was during the whole Luke (Tony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis) thing,” Eileen recalled. “I believe right before Demi Moore (ex-Jackie Templeton) came on, or right around that time, and he was really trying to get me on that show.” Davidson clarified that she believes the roles she did audition for at GH, are not characters that are currently still on the show, but back when she auditioned were, “big ones at the time.” Next, Eileen shared she landed the role of Y&R’s Ashley.

Photo: JPI
KATHERINE KELLY LANG – THE QUEEN OF B&B
Back in 2006, Eileen exited The Young and the Restless, only for Brad Bell (executive producer and head writer, B&B) to bring the character of Ashley Abbott from Genoa City to Los Angeles and the world of The Bold and the Beautiful. While, there, Ashley shared a story with Ridge (then Ronn Moss) and worked with original star series star, Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke).
“When I went over there, that show was so terrific. It’s a dream to work on,” recalled Davidson. “It’s a beautifully produced show. I worked with Kelly, who was lovely. She’s a lovely person to represent her show. She’s amazing, she really is. I don’t know if everybody knows that about her. She handles that mantle beautifully. She’s very welcoming. (One time) she invited all the actresses to do a cooking thing at the Four Seasons in Westlake, and we made butternut squash soup!”
Now below, watch Eileen’s sit-down chat with Rebecca Budig (Taylor, B&B) and Greg Rikaart (Leo, DAYS) on the latest edition of Soapy.
Then let us know, would you have loved to see Eileen on GH? If so, what role? What do you think Eileen being a big fan of the critically-lauded Ryan’s Hope? Did you enjoy Ashley’s jaunt to The Bold and the Beautiful? Let us know in the comment section.
She could still go to GH… Maybe as an evil Cassidine offspring… just for a story arc.
James
I always appreciate your insights, but I’ll have to disagree with you here. GH often struggles to write for their women over 60 – when was the last time Felicia had a real storyline?
I doubt Eileen would leave the Sony universe where’s she had a home (Y&R, DAYS) for decades.
Agree with you. They don’t write for Kristina “Felicia”, Lynn “Lucy”, Finola “Anna”, Genie “Laura”. They only seem to integegrate Alexis and Tracy and have them drive story.
I know Eileen Davidson has spoken a few times about auditioning and possibly joining General Hospital and what a change that would have been for her. She is a rich talent that would really bring a lot of dynamics to the soap around the times she was poised for joining. But I could not imagine her never being Ashley Abbott. She was born to play that role. And I’m glad they did touch upon her time on Santa Barbara, even temporarily.
At that time I can only think she auditioned to be Holly Sutton or Celia Quartermaine.
Since she’s blonde she might have auditioned for the short lived role of “Laura Templeton”. She was Jackie’s sister but actually in Port Charles before Jackie. She didn’t stick around long but since she slightly resembled Laura Spencer and had the same first name, somebody thought there might be a connection… something about women disappearing in the fog or whatever it was. Fuzzy Devil Memory and 45 years ago, I’m sure I’m forgetting the details
That part eventually went to Janine Turner who later became famous on “Northern Exposure”.
I would love to see her on a short term role on GH!!! Eileen is a great talent and a wonderful actress. Just imagine what they could do with her in Port Charles!!!
Fabulous!
Beyond the Gates
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.

Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.

Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
General Hospital
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Breaking News
‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
Days of our Lives long-running cast member James Reynolds revealed on the November 10 edition of Entertainment Tonight that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his character of Abe Carver will now be going through an on-screen Parkinson’s battle as well.
Speaking with ET’s Nischelle Turner, the 80-year-old actor and Daytime Emmy winner shared how he attempted to hide the warning signs dating back to 15-20 years ago when he would have, “What they call the hallucinations. My wife (Lissa) would say, ‘You were hitting me last night in bed,’ and I would say, ‘What?!’ I was having these really horrible dreams.” Reynolds also added that he realized falling out of bed was an early symptom of Parkinson’s too.
Discussing the on-going tremors that have become more noticeable over time especially in hands, James shared that when he finally told the Days of our Lives cast they were nothing but “extraordinarily helpful and supportive.”

Photo: ET
SCREEN LIFE TO MIRROR REAL LIFE
Now with DAYS about to launch into Abe’s Parkinson’s storyline, Reynolds hopes that he can turn his experience into something positive by encouraging others facing the disease to keep fighting. During the sit-down, Reynolds co-star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) recalls her reaction to learning of Reynolds’ real-life diagnosis and how she has continued to search for new treatments to inform James about.
Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are medications and treatments can help those manage symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition progresses at a different pace from individual to individual.
As discussed in his conversation with ET, Reynolds cited Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda as two high-profile celebrities who have brought awareness to the disease.

Photo: JPI
In story on DAYS, Abe in recent weeks had been experiencing tremors which led to seek help and a diagnosis Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans). Soon Abe and others will find out of his battle with Parkinson’s. Although on the promo for this week’s DAYS, Abe is seen telling Kayla, that he will do something, “when the time is right.”
James Reynolds is one of the most prolific performers, being the longest-running Black Actor in a role on a television series, not to mention his aforementioned Lead Actor Daytime Emmy win in 2018, and being inducted in 2025 into the Daytime Emmy Gold and Silver Society of honorees.
You can check out James’ in-depth conversation on his Parkinson’s diagnosis below.
Share your thoughts for James after learning of his health battle, and what do you think of Days of our Lives incorporating the disease into Abe Carver’s Salem storyline? Let us know in the comment section.
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