Days Of Our Lives
Eileen Davidson On Her Shocking Exit from Y&R & Her Return to DAYS as Kristen!
Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins
Circle next Thursday, October 11th on your daytime calendar! That is the date that Eileen Davidson returns to Days of our Lives after nearly 14 years away in the role of Kristen Blake, the adopted daughter of none other than Stefano DiMera! Davidson’s Kristen wreaked havoc on the relationship of Marlena and John last time out, and that’s putting it mildly! Will she be up to her old tricks when she returns?
Davidson spoke to TV Guide not only about her return, but whether any of the other four roles she played at one time along with Kristen, under Jim Reilly’s head scribe days in Salem, may be back in the fold too. Fans are hoping that Susan Banks (EJ’s birth mom) may eventually return, and so to those unbelievable teeth! Eileen also talks about her shocking dismissal from Y&R and her role as Ashley Abbott, and what went on behind the scenes with Sony that eventually landed her back on the long running NBC soap! Here are a few excerpts below!
Eileen on what went down with Y&R, DAYS, and SONY, which had her leaving Genoa City and ending up back in Salem: “What happened to me at Y&R was shocking — I’ve been in this business a very long time and have never seen anything like it — but it’s not like I haven’t been fired before. And with everything going on in daytime right now, it was not completely surprising because everybody seems to be scrambling. Apparently, there was a lot of infighting going on behind the scenes at Y&R. We obviously know that now, considering what ultimately happened to Maria Arena Bell. At the time it felt like I was being ripped from my mother’s arms but, in the bigger picture, I’m really happy to be at Days. It was always a place of great creativity for me. I should also say that a couple of months before I was let go at Y&R, Sony, which owns both soaps, did put out feelers as to whether or not I’d be interested in doing both shows and I said yes. That, of course, didn’t happen, but it wasn’t like I was completely blindsided. At least they did ask how I’d feel about going back to Days. But it was so strange being fired twice from the same show. I was, like, ‘Seriously? Really, people? Again?'”
Eileen on if any of the other characters she played on DAYS will return, namely Susan Banks: “At this point, the only one even mentioned in the dialogue so far is Susan. I guess it would be fun to revisit some of that. Yeah! (Laughs) What can I say? I’m kind of a masochist. And I still have Susan’s teeth. I took them with me when I left the show. I pull them out every once in a while to keep my husband in line.”
Eileen on how Kristen will treat Marlena this time out: “I gotta tell you, some things never change! I just love it when Kristen tortures Marlena! Driving that woman crazy is the most fun ever!”
Are you excited about Eileen’s return to DAYS next week? Would you like to see Susan Banks return too? Or, what about Thomas or Sister Mary Moira? Let us know!
Days Of Our Lives
‘Days of Our Lives’ Favorites Making Returns: Alison Sweeney, Christie Clark, Chandler Massey and Bryan Dattilo
Great news for Days of Our Lives fans, now that Ryan Quan is co-head writer of the long-running soap opera. Coming in June of 2027 (since DAYS tapes ten or so months ahead), you can look forward to the returns of Alison Sweeney (Sami Brady), Christie Clark (Carrie Brady), Chandler Massey (Will Horton) and Bryan Dattilo (Lucas Horton).
The foursome is back on set and began last week to tape their upcoming story arc, according to TV Insider. As to what exactly is going on that brings sister Sami and Carrie’s history back up, as well as Will and Lucas’ is only being teased at this time, but suffice to say, it should be intriguing.
Alison Sweeney explained on being back on set, “It was a lot of dialogue and emotion, but with all the best actors to work opposite, we fell into it as if no time had passed. It was really wonderful.”
Photo: JPI
As to working with the longstanding rivalry of Sami and Carrie, Alison added on working with Clark, “So, it really does feel like we’re sisters. It’s so fun, and she’s such a good actor that she makes everything so natural that you can really disappear into those stories.”
JUST LIKE OLD TIMES
It also seems like the deep-history, which often had the sister fighting for the love of Austin Reed, but that might not figure into the equation this time, or will it?
Alison indicated what she thought of the scripts she was given. “I felt like when I read it, it was a page-turner. I was very excited. There’s a lot of history here, and a lot of things that haven’t been said. So, it’s really not like, ‘Oh, rehashing stuff.’ And now having played some of the scenes, I’m psyched.” Sweeney added, as for the men, working again with her on-screen son, Chandler Massey and Will’s on-screen father Bryan Dattilo, was also extra special.
The last time DAYS viewers saw Sami on the canvas was back in November of 2025, when she revealed she has gotten engaged to never-before-seen Dante Vitali. As for Clark, she last visited Salem for the episodes surrounding John Black’s memorial in June of 2025.
Chandler Massey’s Will Horton last made a visit to Salem in November of 2025 when he attended the gala for the Tom Horton Free Clinic as part of the soap opera’s 60th anniversary celebration. Bryan Dattilo was last seen in December of 2025. So, by the time we see all four again it will be close to two years since they were on new episodes of the series. Time to look forward to June of 2027.
So, excited by the news of Alison, Christie, Chandler and Lucas making a return to Days of Our Lives? What do you think the story will be involving, Sami, Carrie, Lucas and Will? Let us know via the comment section.
Days Of Our Lives
‘Days of Our Lives’ Alum Al Calderon Talks On His Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes as Javi Hernandez (Exclusive)
Last Tuesday, Al Calderon scored the first Emmy nomination of his career for his role as Javi Hernandez on Days of Our Lives.
Calderon name was announced as one of the performers competing for gold in the Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series category at the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards on October 30.
This week, Calderon chatted live on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel for a one-on-one conversation where he discussed: his nominated scenes and time on the Peacock streaming soap opera, his decision to leave DAYS, his role of Nico Silva on Brilliant Minds and its sad cancellation, plus his passing the torch of Javi to Jacob Martinez, who took over the role on-screen on the June 30, 2026 episode of Days of Our Lives.
Photo: JPI
JAVI REVEALS TO LEO THAT HE HAD A DAUGHTER WHO DIED
Al revealed the scenes that comprise his now Emmy-nominated reel have at its epicenter the heartbreaking moments from the September 12, 2025 episode. In it, Javi shares for the first time to Leo (Greg Rikaart) that he had a daughter named Solana, with a woman he was seeing named Sylvia. One fateful day, Sylvia left their child in a car when she went to work and the little girl died. Javi had blamed himself for not being the parent to take his daughter to school that day since he was hungover the night before, therefore it opened up the opportunity for something to happen to the his child, and it did.
The multi-talented actor/singer explained his reel: “It was the scene where he is talking about his daughter to Leo. I also included the scene where Javi goes to talk to Melinda (Tina Huang) and to see if it would be a viable option to adopt, because I wanted to introduce the subtlety and nuance of why Javi kind of has this whole connection to Tesoro, in a way.”
It is true that Al can bring the tears and make us cry right along with him during his run as Javi. To that, Calderon added, “I’ve read the comments that I’m a little bit of a crybaby, so I didn’t want the entire reel to be of me crying, but I wanted it to show a little bit of an emotional range of the restraint that Javi was feeling so I included that scene
In addition Calderon shared, “I also included a really beautiful scene with Cherie Jimenez (Gabi Hernandez, DAYS) where I’m looking at photos of Tesoro, and of course, Javi is crying. I just wanted to show the relationship between Javi and his family as well, and as I mentioned the reveal of the child that he lost.”
Photo: JPI
ALUMS AL CALDERON AND ALICE HALSEY REPRESENT DAYS OF OUR LIVES IN EMERGING TALENT CATEGORY
In a twist of fate, Calderon is also nominated in the Emerging Talent category with Alice Halsey who played Rachel Black. Halsey is currently starring in the reboot of Little House on the Prairie in the lead role of Laura Ingalls on Netflix.
As to his hope on Emmy night, Al expressed, “Of course, I want to win, but Alice Halsey is going to give me a run for the money. And if’s not me (who wins the award), it better be her!”
You can check out the full interview with Al below.
Now let us know, do you remember Al’s emotional scenes when he explained to Leo he had a daughter who died, which made it all the more heartbreaking to not end up with permanent custody of Tesoro? What do you think of Al’s chances to win the gold based on his Emmy scene selection? Do you miss him as Javi? Weigh-in via the comment section.
Days Of Our Lives
Emily O’Brien Talks On Her Y&R Past as Jana Hawkes and Working with Peter Porte on ‘Days of Our Lives’
On the latest edition of Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart which dropped on Tuesday, July 21, Emily O’Brien is the featured guest. As soap fans know, Emily has worked with Rikaart both in her first soap role on The Young and the Restless as Jana Hawkes and now on Days of Our Lives in her current role of Gwen Rizczech.
While Emily continues on DAYS, she has very impressive list of credits in the other part of her career as a voice-over actress and one in motion-capture in some of the most popular video games in the world.
O’Brien was first seen on The Young and the Restless back in 2006. She recalled her landing the role which eventually paired her for her five year run with Greg Rikaart.
Photo: JPI
BEING CAST ON THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
“The role was just a few days and she wasn’t even supposed to be English,” Emily recalled. “The role was originally called Jade. Karen Rae, the casting director of The Young and the Restless at the time said to me “Oh, you’re from England. Try it with the dialect.” I put it on and she said, ‘I’m going to bring you back at like 3 for s callback.’ So then they changed the role to Jana and they said she’s going to be a Brit. I was only supposed to be on for like five episodes and it turned into 5 years.”
In explaining why she loved crazy Jana, Emily shared, “Jana was sort of like the misanthrope. She was just was the odd one out and I loved it. I felt so comfortable playing that because she was just eclectic and weird and she loved playing with Ouija boards and she rode a motorbike. There was just so much color to bring to her. It was just such a great match to play with Greg (Kevin), and Christian LeBlanc (Michael) and Tracey Bregman (Lauren).
Photo: JPI
GWEN, DIMITRI AND LEO ON DAYS OF OUR LIVES
On Days of Our Lives, the Leo, Gwen, Dimitri dynamic is quite unique and been through many schemes and entanglements. Often Emily finds herself in repartee with her ex-lover, Dimitri, who turned out to be gay and then had a thing for her bestie, Leo (Greg Rikaart)!
During the conversation, Greg and Emily sang, Peter Porte’s praised with O’Brien expressing, “Peter is just ready to play. He comes on set prepared. I’ve never seen him with his script. From blocking and rehearsals, he doesn’t have it. He’s prepared. He’s a physical actor and he always trying to come up with something. I think he let me slap him. He let me kiss him. He let me throw a cheeseburger in his lap. He’s ready for anything for anything.”
You can catch the full episode of ‘Soapy; featuring Emily O’Brien below where the actress also talks about replacing Jen Lilley as Theresa Donovan after being let go as Gwen; and being paired again with Greg Rikaart on the Peacock streaming soap opera this time as best friends and more.
So, were you a big Jana Hawkes and Kevin Fisher fan on Y&R? Did you like them as a couple? Do you like the dynamic between Emily and Peter Porte and Greg Rikaart on DAYS? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
Lucas Adams and Tamara Braun Written Out of The Young and the Restless
Rosie O’Donnell Says She Will Return to ‘The View’ During its Season 30
WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night Two: Top 5 Takeaways
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Serena Sets Her Sights on Michael; Jason’s Emotional Exit from the Mob
‘General Hospital’ Fan Club Weekend 2026 (Photos)
GH Alum Nicholas Alexander Chavez Lands Role in Paramount’s Remake of ‘Possession’
‘General Hospital’s’ Steve Burton Reveals His Lead Actor Daytime Emmy-Nominated Reel Did Not Contain Monica’s Funeral
‘General Hospital’ Ethan Lovett Recast: Christian Howard Replaces Nathan Dean
‘General Hospital’ Alum Colin Cassidy to Appear in Ryan Murphy’s ‘The Shards’
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ethan Lovett Hightails Out of the Country, Christian Howard Wraps His Stint
Lucas Adams and Tamara Braun Written Out of The Young and the Restless
Rosie O’Donnell Says She Will Return to ‘The View’ During its Season 30
WWE SummerSlam 2026 Night Two: Top 5 Takeaways
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Serena Sets Her Sights on Michael; Jason’s Emotional Exit from the Mob
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Preview: Katie is Suspicious of Dylan and Warns Will, Steffy Takes Off to Monaco
-
General Hospital5 days agoGH Alum Nicholas Alexander Chavez Lands Role in Paramount’s Remake of ‘Possession’
-
General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’s’ Steve Burton Reveals His Lead Actor Daytime Emmy-Nominated Reel Did Not Contain Monica’s Funeral
-
General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’ Ethan Lovett Recast: Christian Howard Replaces Nathan Dean
-
General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’ Alum Colin Cassidy to Appear in Ryan Murphy’s ‘The Shards’
-
General Hospital3 days agoGENERAL HOSPITAL: Ethan Lovett Hightails Out of the Country, Christian Howard Wraps His Stint
-
News5 days ago‘The Young and the Restless’ Names New Co-Head Writers: Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor
-
News6 days agoY&R’s Billy Flynn and Gina Comparetto Reveal Birth of Their Third Child and It’s a Girl!
-
News5 days agoErika Slezak to Celebrate 80th Birthday; How Fans Can Share a Special Memory and Message to the Soap Opera Icon
I hope she and Stefano will bring the ratings back up! I also would like to see Stefano and Kate get back together. Glad to see John and Marlena TOGETHER and onscreen again!
Absolutely! I’m also hoping that once Kristen’s evilness returns we can do away with that whining twit Nicole.
I like Nicole, but she need to get her strength back by leaving Daniel!
She needs to be Ashley Abbott to me and with Abby going to die in the fire I have no clue why wouldn’t Ashley come back for her daughters Funeral! So sick! We NEED Ashley back
I don’t understand the articles–other 4 roles? On Days or Y and
r?
To Cathy, Eileen played five roles on Days, as ridiculous as it sounds. She played Kristen. Then along came Susan. Susan had three siblings…Penelope, Sister Mary Moira, and their brother Thomas. Eileen played them all. It was outrageous and stupid, but it was Jim Reilly writing it so it was bound to be that way though. But eileen played all the roles like the trouper and professional that she is!
cathy, you need to read the entire article from TV Guide (Michael posted the link above). It explains the other characters. Here is something from the article that will explain it:
“TV Guide Magazine: You made suds history during your previous Days run when you juggled five roles at once — Kristen, her goofball lookalike Susan, and Susan’s three sibs, one of them a man! Will you resurrect any of that? Or would it be a mistake to try to recapture all that Jimmy Reilly insanity now that he’s no longer with us? ”
“Davidson: At this point, the only one even mentioned in the dialogue so far is Susan. I guess it would be fun to revisit some of that. Yeah! [Laughs] What can I say? I’m kind of a masochist. And I still have Susan’s teeth. I took them with me when I left the show. I pull them out every once in a while to keep my husband in line.”
Eileen played five roles on DAYS; Kristen, Susan, Sister Mary, their brother, and Penelope….she was amazing look it up on youtube
She played five people on DAYS: Kristen, Susan, Penelope, Thomas and Sister Mary. =)
It was on Days, she played Kristen, Susan, a nun and a guy. I forgotten their names but I’m sure others posting here will tell you them. I think there might have actually been 5 roles all together. She is one talented actress and y&r loss will definitely be Days gain. I’m looking forward to seeing her.
The following question/answer from the TV Guide interview is very telling to me. If Y&R can right itself, I believe Ashley Abbott will be back in the near future (maybe a year from now). I could see her doing a year on DAYS and then coming back to Y&R or doing both. If Josh Griffith is upset she is gone and CAN write good story for her, she will be back. 🙂
“TV Guide Magazine: Well, for what it’s worth. I interviewed Josh Griffith a couple of weeks ago, now that he’s back as head writer at Y&R, and he hates it that you’re not on the show anymore. He wants you back. Bad! He told me he was the one who brought you from The Bold and the Beautiful back to Y&R during the writers strike.”
“Davidson: I talked to Peter Bergman [Jack] the other day and he told me the same thing. That’s very interesting, because I’d always been led to believe it was Maria Bell who brought me back.”
I’m so happy that Eileen is returning to DAYS. It would’ve been nice if she could have handled both series, but Sony made the right decision in the long-run. DAYS writes for Eileen’s talents, while Y&R did not. Ashley for the past 4½ years was a weak woman, and not the strong one we had in the beginning. So I’m happy she’s returning as Kristen, it’ll be nice seeing her for once in a juicy role!
Super stoked for her return! I have wanted to see her opposite James Scott forever and half now!
I am glad she was asked back to Days and out of that mess going on at Y&R. She is a talented actress. It is rare that I find an actor/actress that I love in any role she plays.
very excited. can’t wait.
I’ve always liked Davidson but have never really watched Days. Her leaving Y&R is a HUGE loss for that show. Even in the too frequently occurring awful episodes and plots of Y&R over the past few years, I stuck with the show just to see scenes between Jack and Ashley. If everything else had to be stripped from Y&R, these two characters are the most invaluable to it. The interaction between them is always interesting even when the plot is not: Family oriented Jack always making some bad or unethical decision for something he preceives as a gain for the Abbotts. Far more ethical (but, at times, more fragile) Ashley always loving her brother but totally aware of his flaws. To me, these two characters ARE Y&R, especially now with John Abbott gone. I even like how they always reminded the audience of their love for their deceased father and how he is never far from their mind.
Davidson always was THE Ashley for me. Brenda Epperson was okay but Davidson was the only actress who really played well against either Jack (Peter Bergman or Terry Lester).
The “firing” of Davidson really nailed my opinion of Maria Arena Bell —- she had to go. If Bell didn’t realize what Davidson and her Ashley mean to the show, she definitely is not who I would want helming Y&R. The loss of Davidson really reminds me of the way Chris Goutman let Martha Byrne go from ATWT. Goutman simply didn’t renew Byrne’s contract while the actress really was key to the show and shown great loyalty and thought he could merely recast Lily. The replacement was good but no one reallly could replacement Byrne as Lily.
I have HUGE hopes that the new crew at Y&R can make significant changes to keep the show going. If they continue as MAB did, making dumb decisions like letting Davidson go, Y&R rightfully will be off the air in 2 years. Much like I hated the loss of ATWT, I would hate the loss of Y&R. However, the cancelled ATWT was NOT the ATWT that I had loved and followed for decades. The current Y&R is NOT the Y&R that I’ve known and admired for 35 years.
I totally argee. It is difficult to see a show that was so good slowly slip downward solely because of mismanagement. They hired a very talented cast for the most part but then don’t write for them. I hope this team will work better together and write storylines that make sense and entertain. We have watched soaps long enough to know every show has its peaks and valleys. Right now Y&R is in a valley, so it has no where to go but up. Maybe Eileen will come back, but they fired her twice, no one would blame her if she would not want to work for them again.
It will be fun to see Eileen in another role. I only know her from Y&R, although I was aware of her 5 characters on DOOL. I almost starting watching just to see her back then, but I was working and there were only so many shows I could keep up with.
Good luck to her…can’t wait until the 11th!
Who???? DOOL is a Hot Mess!!! All the story lines suck, I tune in on Fridays just to see that nothing has changed. FWPDKHTW!!!!
Lord, please let the new regime at Y&R bring Eileen back home to GC where she belongs. Amen.
I hope your prayers are answered!
Eileen has an incredible talent for campy dark comedy and Y&R did NOT take advantage of this. In my opinion, she is back where she needs to be!!!!
So glad she’s back! Hopefully she can make the show watchable again like she did when she was on before. Because DOOL is so boring lately, there was hope for the new team but so far it’s zzzzzzzzz.
I like Eileen on both shows. She is so beautiful and so talented and so graceful and classy. When I was growing up, she was one of my soap queens, along with Deidre Hall. I hope, now that Josh Griffith is back, that Y&R and DAYS can share this amazing actress, who brings so much to the screen.
Eileen leaving Y&R was Sony’s decision, who felt she was over-all a better asset to “Days of our Lives”. I don’t see her splitting between both of the soaps, at least for the next year. Ashley needs some off-screen time from Y&R to grow some confidence.
Josh wouldn’t let Sony/CBS/Jill recast the role, either. He’d book for Eilleen. The role will be there should she decide to go back, which I doubt she’ll be doing anytime soon!
Geez! what’s to say…. all i know for certain… is welcoming back…. Eileen Davidson… to bring some change to DOOL. to spice it up… intrigueing actress… bring some mayhem back in to Marlena’s life… and even dalliance with John… if he’s up to it…. dag! Just something different… this isn’t even a good post… i’ts tough to muster up advertising… it’s still my favorite soap…. Kristen keeps my attention… and her hob nobbing with the DiMera’s… and interacting with salem’ites…. she’s high brow. Should be camp.
Please… DAYS… writers…. I beg of you…. do the “write” thing… and keep her fresh… new… vital… and she’ll energize Salem…. and the audience. Kudos to Stefano, EJ… and Chad… talented Troupe.
This will be good her going to days will give her a chance to shine as an actor i think they wasted her talent on the young and the restless.
SO looking forward to her return since John & Marlena desperately need a storyline and Kristen will certainly provide that!! I’m positive that Drake & Dee are excited about this as well!
Nice post…. I wholeheartedly agree.
I’m bracing myself… as DOOL… needs a shot in the “arm”… and I believe Eileen Davidson, will generate heat and a much needed spark, and that’s story for John and Marlena.
October 11th…. the return of Kristen!
I’m also bracing myself for the exit of Steve Burton…
I will gladly take five days a week of Kristen/John/Marlena than five days a week of Sami for a change.
Eileen has great screen presence and Drake shines when he he’s having fun with this storyline. I agree, a “shot” is just what the doctor ordered 🙂
Strange to see Steve Burton leaving now when it looks like Sam/Jason wil probably reunite once they find out the baby is his. We shall see!
Thank you DOOL and Sony…. for bringing Eileen Davidson… back…. as Kristen!
I’ve been waiting. Oye! I do agree… less is more… with the Sammi show.. and believe you me… i’d be in the front lines fighting for this show….
it’s been like a hurry up and wait… for something new and different… and Kristen… and Sammi’s twin brother… will deliver! oye…. along, with the Phoenix… OK… he belongs!
What’s sad… and i might be jumping the gun…. is Nicole, once again… losing her baby… she had me in tears….”why can’t i hold you”.
i’m so appreciating… the scenes with Sonnys parents…. Justin and Adrienne… it was a hoot to see Adrienne and Lucas… “sharing” their true colors…. dealing with their sons…
Eileen sparks like fire on Days Of Our lives, she is so beautiful and talented. I must say that i have started to be a big Days fan since her return to the show.Days writter need to spend more time focusing on John Marlena, and Kristin and less time with SAMI and EJ and Reef. They writter also needs to change there writing style to incoporated more suspense and thrills and camedy into the show just like how it used to be with Kristin and Susan back in the 90’s. I love Hope too, the need to give her some great story line. and stop exhaust their time too much on Sami and Nicole .