Days Of Our Lives

Jay Johnson and Shelley Hennig leaving Days of our Lives!

January 18, 2011

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

We heard the rumblings of this late last week, but we can now confirm, and as Soap Opera Digest printed today, Days of our Lives younger set is about to be minus two more major players. Both Jay Kenneth Johnson (Phillip) and Shelley Hennig (Stephanie) have decided to leave the NBC soap series. This comes on the heels of the news of the firing of Mark Hapka (Nathan).

Both Hennig and Johnson spoke with SOD and offered their thoughs on why it was time to take the leap from daytime to pursue primetime and film careers: “It just feels right,” says Hennig. “I have been preparing for this for awhile, so I have said my mental good-byes. I will miss the faces I see here every day, but everybody has been really encouraging and has embraced my decision…. I feel like I’m going out with a bang after last week’s air shows and I feel great about it creatively and I am thankful to the writers for giving me that. I am thankful for this role that DAYS has given me and will miss playing this character. I am forever thankful for the fans and this wonderful gift that was given to me. It’s been a lot of fun to play and I wouldn’t change anything.” Hennig’s last tape date is February 2.

Johnson stated,”It feels perfect. The story ended and there’s a lot of stuff going on out there. I thought about it a lot; it just felt like the right time. I want to thank the fans for continuing to watch and following me from my first stint to the other shows I’ve done and back to here. I hope they keep an eye on me in the future.”

We at On-Air On-Soaps wish two of our dear professional friends the best of luck in their new endeavors!

Up Next

Daytime Programming Exec, Barbara Bloom OUT at CBS!

Don't Miss

Y&R's Judith Chapman on Gloria's lack of airtime & her new stage play!

Click to comment

Guest

Paul8148

They have to be recasting Phillip right? Brent Claywell?

Guest

royd

JKJ leaving just SUCKS! Sacrificed at the altar of Melanie. Dena Higley has scant regard for legacy families and characters. Every actor in close contact with the character of Melanie has been turned into a prop for her. Who wants to sign up for that endless monotony. JKJ has been treated like a man bag for too long!!

Guest

lovingit

3 actors deciding to leave at the same time speaks volumes. These are great actors who’s characters have been badly neglected for some time and I don’t blame them one bit for moving on but I will miss them especially JKJ in the role of Phillip. People have been posting for months on all the boards how things need to change at DOOL. Since they seem to ignore their viewers hopefully this will be wake up call for them to make the needed changes in the writing dept. They need to get rid of the dead weight both in the… Read more »

Guest

chelsea

I am sick of Dena Higley’s total disregard of the history of Days of Our Lives and it’s characters. I have watched this show since 1983 and the direction this show has taken makes me sick. She takes great characters like Philp, Chloe, Stephanie etc and uses them as props for the characters she wants on screen and it shows. It’s time for Dena Higley to go.

Guest

Ruthie

Wow. It seems as though the show is falling apart. I’m a long-time viewer who rarely tunes in anymore because the show is not enjoyable to me. If they lose James Scott I will never watch the show again. He is the only actor I still enjoy.

Guest

Michael Jenkins

I agree with you, once James leaves, I will no longer watch Days.

Guest

Bettyrj

I am in total agreement with you. James goes, I go! I can do better with my time than watch Days go down the toilet!

Guest

sara

Me too James goes, I go! The one reason I keep watching is James Scott!!!!

Guest

SoapStud79

I never put my ‘eggs in one basket’ when it comes to soap operas, meaning I never watch any soap for just one actor or character. I will miss JKJ as Phillip, but I am glad to see SH’s Stephanie depart. I wonder if these roles will be recast or if the show will just focus on the other characters coming to the canvas, including Dario, Abby, and Taylor.

Guest

Brian T

The show is losing a lot because three of it’s best actors are leaving. First Mark and now Jay and Shelley. Although I don’t care for Stephanie any longer (ever since she and Phillip broke up), I do think Shelley is an amazing young actress. Jay and Mark are also both very good actors and were given terrible material to work with. I wish them all the best and I pray that the show will wake up and give the other characters some real s/l besides Sami/EJ/Rafe/Nicole and Chloe/Daniel/Melanie

Guest

Skyla

OH NO!!! I can’t believe JKJ is leaving!!! and right on the heels of his chracter having two babies, though I really think Chloe’s baby will end up being Daniel’s in the long run. I don’t mean to sound harsh but I didn’t care one way or the other about Mark Hapka except to hope he has succes in the future and quite honestly I haven’t been a fan of Stephanie for years, the last time I really liked her was back when she was with Max but Shelley is a great actress and I’m sure she’ll be sccessful in… Read more »

Guest

CONNIE

Once James Scott is out of Days. I who have been watching DOOL for the past twenty years will STOP BIG TIME>!!

Days Of Our Lives

Raven Bowens is the New Chanel on DAYS

June 10, 2021

There has been a casting switcheroo at Days of our Lives. Precious Way is out in the role of Chanel Dupree and the part had been recast.

Way debuted on-screen back in March of 2021, but now comes word, first via Jason 47’s Facebook page, that Chanel will be played by actress Raven Bowens.

According to Soap Opera Digest, look for Bowens to first air on-screen on the July 6th episode. Apparently, she has been taping at the DAYS set since April.

Raven has previously appeared on All Rise, Insecure, The New Edition Story and Future Man.

You can follow her on Instagram here.

So, what do you think of the Chantal switch? Comment below.

Days Of Our Lives

DAYS Alison Sweeney Previews the New EJami

June 6, 2021

Coming up on Days of our Lives, Dan Feurerriegel take over the role of EJ DiMera on-screen, and the character is making quite the timely, or untimely return to Salem now that Sami (Alison Sweeney) has been hitting the sheets with her ex-husband, Lucas (Bryan Dattilo).

Feurerriegel is stepping into the coveted role of EJ made soap-famous by James Scott, who left the series back in 2014 and never returned.

Now the question is can Sweeney and Feurerriegel strike soap gold with their re-imagined duo known as “EJami”?

In the latest issue of Soap Opera Digest on newsstands now, Alison Sweeney opened up about the casting, working with Dan, and the future of EJami sharing: “To be honest, I was nervous when I heard they were recasting EJ. That’s a big role to fill, I mean, James Scott was definitely a fan favorite and EJ is such a memorable role in the story and certainly in Sami’s life.”

Sweeney said of sharing scenes with Feurerriegel, “Dan has been fantastic. I’ve really enjoyed working with him. He clearly understood the importance of the task ahead.”

As for what fans of EJami may be in for, Sweeney noted: ” I hope those ‘EJami’ fans see the couple they were so connected to, but of course, in a new, different way.”

So will you be giving the new EJami a chance? Looking forward to Dan’s debut, or are you Team Lumi all the way? Share your thoughts via the comment section below. But first check out this week’s promo for DAYS.

Days Of Our Lives

DAYS Billy Flynn Opens Up To Maurice Benard About His Battle with Addiction on All-New ‘State of Mind’

May 30, 2021

In a terrific episode of Maurice Benard’s (Sonny Corinthos, General Hospital) State of Mind You Tube series, the actor welcomes another one of the best actors on daytime, Days of our Lives star Billy Flynn (Chad DiMera, Days of our Lives).

What made this so compelling was Billy Flynn’s ability to talk openly, frankly, and with great understanding about his battles with addiction which he notes have been alcohol, drugs, and the cycles he has found himself in within his life and how he was able to break free of them, and the work he continues to do to keep him from falling back into them.

Flynn shares how much of his adult life was greatly impacted by his childhood, and explained to Benard, how he acted out when he was younger. He also shares how his addiction caused issues for awhile with his job at Days of our Lives.

This episode is a powerful one to watch for anyone struggling with issues of addiction, dependency, suicide, having problems at work, and trying to not self-destruct, which so many of us do, once we seemingly get what we what or while we are trying to obtain it.

Bravo to Billy and Maurice for bringing this forward and to the audience.

Watch Billy’a visit on State of Mind below, followed by a bonus segment where Flynn asks Benard some ‘hard-hitting’ questions.

What did you think of what Billy shared with Maurice? Comment below.