News
Sam Champion Exits Good Morning America For The Weather Channel!

Courtesy/ABC
While we previously reported several of the anchors of ABC’s Good Morning America contracts were up for renewal, and several were in negotiations, one of them, weatherman Sam Champion has decided to bolt ABC and head to the Weather Channel!
Champion will relocate from New York City to Atlanta for the new gig which gives him the opportunity to be Managing Editor of the Weather Channel, plus launch his own new morning show and more!
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Champion is leaving ABC News, where he has been for 25 years, for a robust new role at The Weather Channel, which is a division of the NBCUniversal News Group. He’ll anchor a new flagship morning program, set to launch early next year. And he’ll assume managing editor responsibilities a the channel, which has increasingly sought to become a destination during times other than periodical weather disasters.”
Ginger Zee will now replace Champion in the weather role on GMA! 40th Annual Daytime Emmy viewers will recall this past June, Sam was one of the co-hosts of the awards program on HLN, which honors the best in daytime programing!
ABC News President, Ben Sherwood in a company-wide email related: “Sam is leaving to become the “on-air face” of the network, which Champion himself characterized as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Sherwood went on to say: “Over the years at GMA, Sam has broadcast more than 1,800 weather forecasts. He has traveled to almost every major weather event in the U.S. As many of you know, Sam’s ‘Go’ bag is always ready and his stellar reporting during Superstorm Sandy contributed to ABC’s Peabody Award for coverage of that historic storm!”
Weather Channel President David Clark stated on the acquisition of Champion: “Sam is already one of the top names in morning television, as well as one of the country’s most respected and trusted weather reporters. He will add a great deal to our network and be a great addition to our already proven and stellar team of talented weather professionals. With his commitment to understanding, predicting and explaining the power of weather in our lives, Sam perfectly embodies The Weather Channel’s brand philosophy, ‘It’s Amazing Out There.’”
So, what do you think of Sam Champion departing Good Morning America for Weather Channel? Will you miss him on GMA? Weigh-in!
Sad…love Sam. I hope Josh does not leave too. These seem to be tight friends
Glad I’ll get to see him again since I no longer watch ABC except GH…
No, I won’t miss him.
my boyfriend looks like sam champion, but my boyfriend is 39 years old, and im 26. sam is one fine hot man. lol. when i go out for dinner with my man, people look at my boyfriend, and say you look like sam champion. i say yes he does, and he is my man. i tell them look at him, but dont touch him. lol.
I really love the good morning america family..Sam you will be deeply :(:(:missed. Good Luck!!
He will be missed.
Awww Love Sam he’ll be missed dearly but great news on his new Adventures we’ll always watch the Weather Channel when getting up ready to go to work …. He’ll fit find in there group so we will be watch n SAM huggggs from all of us here in Tampa Bay FL ………..God Bless u Always he made such great Friends over at GMA !!!!!!!
I thought Sam was away with his significant other?
Well I enjoyed him on GMA!!!
I’ll miss the many years of seeing him in the gym locker room after GMA!
I am sure they will just replace him with another laughing hyena that will talk when everybody else is talking. Sam has looked embarrased lately at some of the behavior on that show. I wish him well.
tomorrow 12/4/2013 will be a sad day because it’s sam’s last day on gma – he is such a big part of gma & he will definitely be missed!
this is such a well deserved opportunity for sam – i know he will exceed the weather channels expectations……….
I missed viewing the news for awhile and when I did the first person I missed was Sam.
Every morning I looked for Sam but no Sam. Today I decided to google him and found
Out he had left! I will definitely miss him as he was my favorite. I wish him must success
In his new career. Good-bye Sam and may God forever bless you.
News
Jess Walton Memoir ‘The Young and the Rest of Us’ Set for Release in 2027

The Young and the Restless enduring favorite and two-time Daytime Emmy-winning actress, Jess Walton (Jill Foster Abbott) is set to release her memoir!
Kensington Publishing has revealed on their website that Walton’s book The Young and the Rest of Us is now available for pre-order while listing an April 27, 2027 release date. In addition, in June of 2027, Walton will mark her 40th anniversary with The Young and the Restless and her debut as Jill.
The official log lines for the memoir share, “Emmy Award-winning actress Jess Walton, known to millions as the iconic Jill Abbott on the #1 soap opera The Young and the Restless, shares her extraordinary journey to stardom, sobriety, true love, and self-discovery in this startingly candid, intimate, and star-studded memoir.”

Photo; Kensington Books
CAKE FIGHTS AND CORPORATE INTRIGUE
The book description for The Young and the Rest of Us adds, “In June 1987, Jess Walton walked through the artists’ entrance at CBS for her first day on The Young and the Restless,where she had just been hired to play the recast role of Jill Abbott. Two Emmy awards, four decades, and countless onscreen affairs, marriages, corporate takeovers, and cake fights later, she’s a beloved icon with an astonishing tale to tell.”
“In her refreshingly candid style, Jess shares her journey as a young actress from Toronto theaters to Los Angeles, where she found herself at the center of a Laurel Canyon circle that included the likes of Neil Young, David Geffen, Laura Nyro, and Joni Mitchell. Landing a Universal contract and a steady stream of guest starring roles, Jess embraced everything 1970s L.A. had to offer—including Hollywood parties fueled by limitless booze and drugs, and trysts with stars. She recounts with candor and gratitude the surprising path that eventually led her to sobriety, true love—and ultimately, to fictional Genoa City, Wisconsin, and the role of a lifetime.”
“Brimming with behind-the-scenes drama and celebrity cameos to delight fans, The Young and the Rest of Us is also rich in personal, relatable truths about marriage, motherhood, empty-nesting, self-discovery, and finding the courage to start over—as often as it takes. In a voice as fearless and frank as Jill’s, but with, humor and grace all her own, Jess Walton looks back on a life as unpredictable, and adventure filled as anything she has portrayed on screen.”
WHO ELSE PLAYED JILL FOSER ABBOTT?
Fans of The Young and the Restless know that Walton became the fourth actress to take on the role of Katherine Chancellor’s original nemesis Jill Foster back in 1987. The OG Jill was played by Brenda Dickson, also Deborah Adair, Bond Gideon and Melinda O. Fee played the part.
This year, Days of our Lives star Lauren Koslow (Kate Roberts) filled-in for several episodes for Walton who was unavailable to travel from her home in Oregon to Los Angeles where Y&R was taped. Walton is still with the long-running soap opera as Jill.
So, excited to learn of Jess Walton’s upcoming memoir, ‘The Young and the Rest of Us?’ Will it be it a must-read for you? Drop a comment below.
Days Of Our Lives
‘Heated Rivalry’ Star Franco LoPresti Opens Up About ‘Days of our Lives’ Debut as Dante Vitali

Next week on Monday, September 14 will mark the first appearance in Salem of Franco LoPresti in his new Days of our Lives role of Dante Vitali.
Heated Rivalry fans now LoPresti very well from his part as hockey player Cliff Marleau in the series first season. (No word yet if Cliff appears in season 2).
Now in a conversation with TV Insider, DAYS fans will learn that LoPresti is on the soap for a limited run. No timetable was given.

Photo: Corday Productions, Inc
When LoPresti does burst onto the scene come Monday, Dante makes quite the impact as Franco LoPresti explains. It seems that viewers will first see him in scenes in Monte Carlo at a poker table with none other than Gabi Hernandez (Cherie Jimenez) and Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier). However, Dante will come to Salem to talk to the Brady family about his supposed fiancée Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney).
Franco shared, “Dante was born and grew up in Italy and educated at this pretty top-tier English boarding school. He then went on to build his own dynasty in finance, all the while trying to distance himself from the Vitali name (as viewers know Tamara Braun played his cousin Ava Vitali).”
“But at the core of Dante, there’s definitely an old-school quality to him”, continued LoPresti. “He’s super passionate, he’s sincere and incredibly generous, but he’s also someone that you probably shouldn’t underestimate. Loyalty is something that means a lot to him. As Dante enters Salem, I think the audience will get to slowly peel back those layers and discover what’s really driving him. So, I’m excited for Days fans to go on that ride with Dante.”

Photo: Almay
As it turns out, LoPresti taped his episodes of DAYS starting back in November 2025 which happened to be weeks before Heated Rivalry became a smash hit.
Franco recalled, “It’s so funny because I thought my episodes would air in a month (on Days of our Lives). But I found out it was nine to 10 months and I was like, ‘I gotta wait that long?!’ So, I’ve been biting my nails, trying not to think about it, and I think it’s actually kind of helped because now it’s here and it’s all coming at me from all different angles. I’m nervous. I’m excited, and I just can’t wait to see it all come together. It’s one of the best jobs I’ve ever had for sure.”
In his personal life, Franco just had his first child with wife, actress Emily Alatalo, just a weeks ago on August 23rd when they welcomed their daughter, Stella into the world.
So, looking forward to seeing Franco LoPresti’s debut come Monday? What do you think about the fact that it’s being reported as a limited run? Do you think Dante and Sami have a chance on-screen or off-screen to be a happy couple? What do you really think brings Dante to Salem sans Sami? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below.
Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ vs. ‘The Young and the Restless’ in a Soap Opera Showdown on ‘Flip Side’ Season 3 Premiere

CBS daytime dramas, Beyond the Gates and The Young and the Restless go head-to-head when two featured cast members from each show compete on the syndicated game show, Flip Side for its season 3 premiere.
Hosted by Jaleel White (best known as Steve Urkel from Family Matters) and filmed near Atlanta, Georgia, daytime drama fans should circle Monday, September 14th when you can catch: representing Team BTG, Colby Nixon (Kat Richardson) and RhonniRose Mantilla (Chelsea Hamilton), and Representing Team Y&R, Bryton James (Devon Hamilton) and Lily Winters (Christel Khalil).
In the upcoming soap opera showdown, the competing teams will win prize money for the charities of their choosing, when White tests both teams on how they think opposite groups of people feel about the same topic, and to see which team will make it to the final round.

Photo: CBS
Flip Side’s loglines shares that it’s “an original, laugh out-loud survey-based game show that pits two teams of contestants against each other, testing them on how they think opposite groups of people feel about the same topic. The teams compete for a shot at $10,000 by guessing the top answers based on anonymous surveys – which can be provocative, surprising, and often humorous. Throughout each episode, host Jaleel White brings a fun and comedic energy to the show while also guiding the contestants through the questions.”
Season three leans deeper into exploring relationships, dating, social behaviors and everyday life situations that viewers can relate to. Season three also features multiple celebrity episodes benefiting charity kicking off with the CBS soap showdown.
In addition to airing Monday to Friday in syndication on stations across the country, Flip Side has a second run on Game Show Network. So, check your local listings for times in your area, or catch Flip Side on GSN.
So, who do you think wins the soap opera showdown between BTG’s Colby and RhonniRose vs. Y&R’s Bryton and Christel? Make your picks in the comment section. But first, check out a bit of the action from the episode below.
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