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THE RAYA MEDDINE INTERVIEW – THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS

By Michael Fairman

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TV SOAP:
How did the taping day go, with the wedding nuptials between Victor and Sabrina?  Usually soap weddings take forever to tape.

RAYA:
Honesty, it went very smoothly.  We were all shocked that we were out by 9PM.  We had a joke that day between actors and that was, “Did you bring your sleeping bag?  What color is your sleeping bag? “  We thought we would be staying up really late.  The hardest part for the actors, when you are shooting a wedding, is the vows.  You want them to look natural and real, and not fake.  Once Eric Braeden (Victor) and I got the vows out of the way, the rest was really fun.

TV SOAP:
What is Sabrina’s agenda?  Does she really love Victor Newman?

RAYA:
Something will be coming up, but the truth is Sabrina fell in love with this man.  The last thing she expected was to fall in love with her best friend’s dad.   She wanted to get over her ex- boyfriend, and she wanted to meet someone her own age or older, but definitely not Victor Newman.  So, it hit Sabrina on the head.  It happened, and that’s what love does.  You can’t plan it.  So, Sabrina did fall in love with him.  The nice thing about Victor and Sabrina is that she sees a side of him that other people don’t see.

TV SOAP:
Now, Sabrina’s selfish mom, Zara, pops up on the scene. What’s that been like?

RAYA:
I thought it was fun for me to play.  It’s nice, and it adds conflict and vulnerability for the character to have with her mom.   A mother is usually about unconditional love, but this mother is all about herself and her ego, and she puts Sabrina down.

TV SOAP:
Did you pick out the wedding gown for Sabrina?

RAYA:
I picked it out with the “Y&R” costume designer.  The gown was a Monique Lhuillier gown.  I wanted Sabrina’s wedding dress to be classy and subtle and nothing too over the top.  I didn’t want anything ‘fancy schmancy’, and that is why I picked it.  The wedding was in a barn, so it was supposed to be more earthy and simpler. And personally, I am not so into the whole cliché of weddings that are cultural.  Society always loves to emphasize that a girl spends her life dreaming about her wedding.  And, that’s the day she’s got to be a princess, and it’s the most beautiful day of your life.  I kind of despise that a tiny bit.  I am happily married and I adore my husband.  Marrying him was one of the best things I ever did in my life, but I kind of despised the idea of women feeling that everything revolves around that special day.  I think it’s demeaning for a woman to put all their hopes and dreams into a wedding.  When I was a kid I never dreamt of my wedding.  My life was rich enough, and I knew at sometime I would marry someone I loved, and that was important to me.  It’s not about being a princess.  I am not a feminist, but that’s just me.

Audio

TV SOAP:
Did you like the written vows to Victor?

RAYA:
I loved them!  I felt it was very heartfelt, because at the end of the day, the vows are what it is all about.  You don’t want to use some cheesy fabricated formulas that have been used over and over again.
Sabrina told Victor, “I traveled all over the world looking for a home because I never had that home.  I was lonely, and all of sudden you are it.  You represent my home and my security, my protection and my unconditional love.  Just being with you, and being in your presence, is all I need.”  That is the truth, and why their  bond is so misunderstood by everybody in Genoa City.  The citizens cannot fathom why a young European girl is falling in love with this  rich older man.  They think it must only be for the money and the power. They cannot see what she sees.

Audio

TV SOAP:
But, did you say vows in your own real-life wedding?

RAYA:
My wedding with my husband was different.  We were in Lebanon, and in Lebanon you can’t do civil marriage.  There is no such thing.  You can only get married religiously.  In the Middle East it’s all the same.  In Israel, Palestine, the Arab world, you can be married in a church or a mosque, but not in a civil marriage.  Since we are not religious, but from two different religions, we don’t believe or have religion rule our marital life.  So, we eloped to Cyprus, and got married there in the municipality.  We were in jeans and white tank tops and we had a blast!

TV SOAP:
Fans are always asking, what is your nationality?

RAYA:
I am Lebanese.  I am from Lebanon.  My dad was a diplomat and I was raised all over.  I was born in New York, raised in Italy, France, Canada, North Africa, Lebanon, The Arab Peninsula, Tunisia, and Yemen.  It has been an amazing life!

TV SOAP:
Is it true that “Y&R” incorporated your real-life history into the character of Sabrina?

RAYA:
“Y&R” head-writer, Maria Bell, and  executive producer, Josh Griffith, got that from me and thought it was good, and they wanted to make it evolve.  They got that my dad is a diplomat, and that I do speak languages.  It’s incorporated into my identity.  I loved that they used that.

TV SOAP:
What is it like working with Adam, Chris Engen?

RAYA:
It’s really great!  I love it.  It’s interesting, and I have fun, too.  Chris is a very talented actor, because he has a mystery about him, and so does his character, Adam.  He will be saying something and you always feel like there is something going on with him, underneath. You can’t get to the bottom of it and you try to understand.

TV SOAP:
You seem to improvise in some of your scenes with Chris.

RAYA:
I love improvising because, obviously, we stick to the text and we don’t change the storyline (She laughs), and Chris plays along.  I can throw something at him and use it, and he will throw something fun at me, and I will go along with it.

TV SOAP:
Who showed you the ropes your first day at “Y&R”?  Was it Eric Braeden?

RAYA:
Definitely Eric.  As an actor, he had that fatherly influence on me, and making sure I was safe, secure, and happy on set.  We really hit it off instantly.  From the first time we spoke at the audition, I felt like I had known him from a past life.  I really do, and I told him that.

Audio

TV SOAP:
Now, what about what Sabrina did, by sleeping with and marrying her best friend’s dad? Did you think it was odd?

RAYA:
Of course it’s odd.  The problem is not being clear up front.  If, God forbid, I were in a situation where I fell in love with my best friend’s dad, or started having an affair with him, I would go and talk to her right off the bat.  I would make sure she knows and try to get her blessing!  What is important is to try to be as honest or as transparent as possible.
Also, you need to live your life, and you need to honor your feelings and be true to yourself.   It’s not as if Victor and Nikki were together, they were divorced.  So, it’s not as if you went and wrecked a home as a mistress.

Audio

TV SOAP:
If you could write a story for Sabrina, what would you love to see happen to her?

RAYA:
It would become primetime and rated R.  Is that OK? (She laughs)17:05  I would like her to have a secret past; where at night she can be a psychopathic spy who is into leather and S&M… a real dominatrix.  Then, during the day, she is a very sweet housewife to Victor Newman and bakes cookies! (She laughs)

TV SOAP:
Does Sabrina even know how to bake?

RAYA:
She has help to bake it, but if Victor insists, she would do anything for him. (She laughs)

TV SOAP:
What can we tell fans of “Y&R” to look forward to from Sabrina?

RAYA:
We can look forward to Sabrina being anything but what you expected.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Tabyana Ali Weighs In on Who She Thinks is Trina’s Stalker (Exclusive)

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Tabyana Ali

On General Hospital, as Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) has launched a music career alongside Gio Palmieri (Giovanni Mazza), it was recently revealed that she actually has what seems like an “obsessed” stalker! How do we know? Well, there is a collage of the young woman that said person is continuing to add more photos to as the weeks and months roll on.

There have been several obvious suspects in the way GH has presented the characters. Chief among them music executive, Simon Craft (Grady Eldridge) who continually has made statements and has been shooting daggers at anyone getting in the way of his prized recording artist.

At the same time the stalking started, Kai’s friend and former college football teammate, Quinn (Jequan Jackson) showed back up who previously had a falling out with Trina. Might he be playing nice, but wants revenge on Trina?

Simon, Trina and Gio

Photo: ABC

KEPT IN THE DARK

Fast-forward and now General Hospital fans learned that two-time Daytime Emmy winner, Alley Mills is on her way back to the show as Heather Webber, who previously was known as”The Hook” killer at one point, and is the biological mother of Trina’s sworn enemy, Esme Prince (last played by Avery Pohl).

Esme perished went she went overboard with Trina’s boyfriend, Spencer Cassadine (last played by Nicholas Alexander Chavez) a few years ago into the steely waters below. Could Esme be the one obsessing over Trina, or could it be someone else completely?

In a brand new video interview out on Tuesday, September 29, Tabyana Ali visited You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel and weighed-in on who she thinks could be the culprit! However, Tabyana shared she actually has no idea who it actually will turn out to be.

“The crazy thing is that everybody knows who it is except for me! They’re keeping that secret from me,” revealed Ali. “They want me to be as oblivious as Trina.”

Courtesy/ABC

THOSE WHO WENT OVERBOARD AND PRESUMED DEAD

After looking over the potential suspects and with all the theories that have floated about, Tabyana had her top picks! “I would love for it to be Spencer. I would love for it to be Esme. Mostly because I also just want my friends back on set, too. I would love to just see them and hang out with them. I think it definitely could be one of those two,” speculated Ali.

“I think everybody thought it could have been Quinn, or could have been Simon. I think we were all pointing in that direction for a minute, but I thinks that’s too easy”, declares Tabyana. “I think they’re just trying to throw me off, and trying to make it seem like it’s one of them. Now, nobody told me one way or the other about them.”

As soaps go, it’s usually not the first string of suspects who turn out to be the actual person behind the stalking. Tabyana agreed, “If you just know writing in general, if you just know TV in general, if you know soaps in general, you know that’s a game. You know, they set up, set up, set up, and then they really show the reveal. So. I was like, ‘This is just the setup to the reveal, right?'”

As for it being Spencer, it may not because his motives are bad. Ali shared, “It could be Spencer trying to fight his way back to Trina, or Heather trying to get revenge for her dead daughter Esme, or Esme herself. Those are all good ones, I was also playing around with what if it’s Cyrus Renault (Jeff Kober)? That would be kind of fun. Don’t know what his motive would be. I know he passed away. He’s dead because of Joss (Eden McCoy), but it’s like everybody comes back alive on soaps, so…”

Trina and Kai

Photo: ABC

FROM KAI WITH LOVE

Some fans theorized it could be Trina’s boyfriend, Kai Taylor (Jens Austin Astrup) or one another option being that the real stalker takes him out. “I think that’s kind of happened to all of Trina’s boyfriends,” lamented Tabyana. “They’ve all kind of gone that way. So, hopefully it doesn’t happen that way. Would it be easier if Kai was the stalker? Okay, yeah, maybe. He’d go to jail for a couple months or whatever. Come on out and then what? He would had to have had a brain-eating amoeba that made him do it. Who knows?” (Laughs)

In the end, are Trina and Kai truly in love? Ali shared her viewpoint and gave a tease, “I think they have love for one another, but to love someone it does take gradual time. I think it’s getting to that point. I think with this music situation as well, it is really proving to Trina that Kai is willing to be there with her every step of the way.”

She continued, “He is supporting her 10 toes down, making sure that she has everything that she needs, to going to every live show. I think this portion of their lives will definitely guide them somewhere else. I think, an ‘I love you,’ might come just around the corner.”

You can check out the full conversation with Tabyana now on the Michael Fairman Channel below.

Then weigh-in, after hearing Tabyana’s thoughts on the matter, who do you think will be proven to be Trina’s stalker? Let us know via the comment section below.

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Interviews

‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Heather Tom Talks Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes and What’s Behind Katie’s Deep-Seated Issues with Dylan (Exclusive)

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Heather Tom

The Bold and the Beautiful’s Heather Tom (Katie Logan) is heading into the 53rd annual Daytime Emmys next month with a chance to win not one, but two gold statuettes to add to her collection of six!

Heather is once again a nominee for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series, and for the first time a nominee as part of B&B’s writing team in the Outstanding Writing for a Daytime Drama Series category.

Currently, Heather is tied with One Life to Live icon, Erika Slezak (Ex-Viki) as the actresses with the most wins in Daytime Emmy history. An acting victory by Tom would break the tie, although Slezak’s wins have all been for Lead Actress, while Tom literally grew up before our eyes over 35 years in daytime, and has won in all three actress categories: Younger, Supporting and Lead.

Photo: JPI

Whether Tom wins the gold this year, next year is looking even like stronger lock with Heather delivering some of the best work of her career, over the last several months. Who can forget Katie’s showdown with her sister Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) over the creation of her own fashion house named Logan, that slap from Brooke, and eventually being disowned from the Logan family by Brooke and their sister, Donna (Jennifer Gareis). 

This fall, Katie is in full momma bear-mode and being overprotective of her son Will Spencer’s (Crew Morrow) heart and pocketbook. In story, Katie has a massive distrust of Melissa Dylan, who has made her move on her son, while Will is still trying to deal with the break-up with the love of his life Electra Forrester.

During a live chat this week on the Michael Fairman Channel, Heather opened up on a myriad of subjects, including why Dylan gets under Katie’s skin in such a major way, and what scenes earned her a shot at Lead Actress gold at the October 30th Daytime Emmy ceremony.

Photo: JPI

HEATHER TOM’S DAYTIME EMMY SUBMISSION

In daytime, Heather Tom does it all, she acts, directs and writes for The Bold and the Beautiful. When deciding what material to submit for Emmy competition with its eligibility rules of episodes from 2025, it relayed heavily on scenes with her longtime B&B scene partner, Don Diamont (Bill Spencer).

“I submitted material having to do with the Luna (Lisa Yamada) storyline and having to do with Katie and Bill. I love that Katie and Bill have been really trying to find their way back to each other for, honestly, five years. He’s been trying to woo her back. Katie’s been like, ‘No.’ However, they come together, especially over their son, Will (Crew Morrow) and they have a very real relationship-type of discussion. It wasn’t an argument. It was more about, ‘I know you. Don’t do this.’ That’s always kind of been Katie’s relationship with Bill. The scenes with Don Diamont were about Katie and Bill’s history, the pain, and the drama, and especially about their son, seemed very familiar to me.”

Heather added, “There’s also a couple scenes with Will and Luna, when Katie finds out that Luna is pregnant. Katie was like, ‘Nope! Our son is having a baby with somebody, and we’re going to figure this out. We’ve got means and the ability to do this. I don’t care if we have to take this baby away from Luna because she’s crazy, we’ll figure it out.’ They were some really good scenes that I felt very proud of. I thought to myself, “OK, this is Katie really taking a stand for her son, and having these conversations with Bill where I just felt they were real and honest.”

In conclusion to standing by her choices of scenes, Heather explained, “It was nice to see Bill and Katie operating as a parental unit and have her be like, “Yep, we’re not doing this. You know, you can’t force Luna to do anything, so let’s just figure out how we’re dealing with this.” Katie was kind of the adult in the room. Then, the scenes where Bill says to Katie, “You have to come back to me and I need you,” while Katie shed a few tears, she still didn’t take him back, not yet.”

Photo: JPI

DYLAN BROKE THE ‘GIRLFRIEND CODE’

There are specific reasons why Katie has it out for Melissa Dylan. In fact, Dylan went so far as to get her mother Darcy Dylan to town to shut down Katie’s suspicions of her, but it still isn’t swaying Katie away from her stance on the matter. Heather revealed how she is playing the scenes.

“So, here’s the deal. It’s multifaceted,” began Tom. “This girl pushes Katie’s buttons. She reminds her of her sister, Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang), and what Katie’s going through with her sister right now is very unpleasant. I think she looks at this girl and says, “This girl is going to crawl over anyone to get what she wants. And right now, she wants my son, and she’s willing to throw her best friend (Electra) under the bus.”

Heather also said, “Honestly, there’s something known as the ‘girlfriend code.’ Would you like to know what the girlfriend code is? ‘The girlfriend code’ is if your girlfriend, who is also your best friend, dates a guy and is especially in love with him, it doesn’t matter if you break up, that guy is off limits. You need to find yourself another guy.”

KATIE’S TROUBLES WITH BROOKE AND DYLAN MAKE HER TAKE A STAND

Katie clearly draws a similarity to her sister Brooke and Melissa Dylan which is also driving her attitude, which Heather confirmed. “So to Katie, it’s like Dylan broke that code. She is someone who follows her heart just like Brooke and leaves carnage in her wake,” said Tom.

She continued, “I think Katie looks at her and goes ‘Okay, one, you were living in your car. You didn’t call your mother who clearly loves you and ask her for help, but you were more than willing to take help from this, lovely rich guy.’ I think Katie feels like the fact that Dylan has been so expressive of how in love she is with Will, I think she finds that a little weird.  She’s telling him that she’s e in love with him, and he doesn’t say it back to you. So, clearly he’s in not in love with you.”

In story, Katie can’t trust a young woman, who knows her son doesn’t feel the same way about her and yet is still hanging around. Heather shared Katie’s viewpoint to Dylan: “He’s clearly in love with your best friend. So, isn’t it a little unsettling that she kind of keeps saying she’s in love with him? So that’s my multifaceted reason why Katie doesn’t like her. It really has nothing to do with the fact that she came from humble beginnings because Katie did too. That being said, the Spencers are billionaires, so she would have to also look out for that. However, I don’t think that’s the main reason why she doesn’t like this girl or doesn’t trust her. I really don’t.”

You can check out the full conversation from our livestream conversation on the Michael Fairman Channel below.

Now let us know, are you rooting for Heather Tom to win the Lead Actress Daytime Emmy? What did you think of the scenes she submitted? Will Katie be proven right about Melissa Dylan, or will her distrust blow up in her face and she will wind up respecting Dylan when all is said and done? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Interviews

‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Kelly Sullivan Talks Becoming Darcy Dylan, Who’s Melissa’s Dad, and Future Love Interest (Exclusive)

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Kelly Sullivan

Kelly Sullivan made her triumphant return to daytime on recent episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful in her new role as Darcy Dylan, the mother of Melissa Dylan (Sydney Bullock).

In story, Melissa, better known as just “Dylan,” phoned home to her mother to come to Los Angeles, in an effort to calm the waters with Will Spencer’s (Crew Morrow) nosy mother, Katie Logan (Heather Tom), who doesn’t trust Dylan one iota.

Soap fans remember Sullivan from her previous Daytime Emmy-nominated role sas Kate Howard/Connie Falconeri on General Hospital and as Sage Warner on The Young and the Restless. During a livestream conversation exclusively on the Michael Fairman Channel, Kelly spoke about her time on GH and Y&R, and the wonderful co-stars she shared the screen with, and her excitement on her brand new role on B&B.

Photo: JPI

As to her thoughts on if Darcy will ultimately prove to be a gold-digger, opportunist, but still has a heart of gold (as we saw in recent scenes with her daughter, seemingly), Sullivan explained, “Characters like Darcy can be dangerous. I think Darcy is a survivor and she can charm. She’s a flirt. She knows what she wants. Darcy is self-made, according to her, and she made it.”

THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN DARCY AND HER DAUGHTER, MELISSA DYLAN

However, Melissa plays a big role in what’s next for Darcy! Kelly explained, “She’s got this beautiful daughter and that was her entire life who is now making her way. Let me tell you, I don’t know what Darcy’s retirement plan is, but one would assume she doesn’t have much savings. This is a great opportunity for her to connect with her daughter and get the lay of the land.”

Finding out that Melissa has been dating Will Spencer from the rich and powerful Spencer family in Los Angeles, while initially a shock, could prove interesting if the mother/daughter were to work together for a common cause, their survival.

Sullivan explained, “Darcy’s all about the tabloids and all about this life of illusion and the haves and have-nots, essentially. She would never shy away from an opportunity to see what’s around the corner. I think the interesting thing for me, that I’m excited about is to explore the dynamic between Darcy and Melissa and what is that going to become?”

From all accounts, Darcy is here to stay in Los Angeles, and fans will see much more of Sullivan on their-screens. “Darcy’s not going anywhere”, confirmed Kelly. “I always said to Sydney Bullock, Darcy didn’t buy a round trip ticket. If you think about it, Melissa could be her ticket. She might be Darcy’s only hope. There are serious stakes here if Darcy has been waiting for this moment.”

Photo: JPI

SHARING SCENES WITH HEATHER TOM

Last week, Sullivan had her first on-screen confrontation with Heather Tom. In the scenes, Katie was disapproving of Dylan and let Darcy know it. Eventually, Darcy takes Dylan with her to leave Will’s beach house apartment, but Will stops Dylan.

Recalling the taping of the scenes, Kelly said, “Heather Tom is a real special artist. In the story between Katie and Darcy, you’ve got momma bear and you’ve got momma bear. You can’t fault either of these women for how they feel, and how protective they are of their children.”

There are many things viewers and perhaps the writers have not totally fleshed out about the Dylans. Are their Dylan sisters coming, or to be revealed to rival the Logan sisters? Who is Melissa’s biological father? Plus, some more nuggets as Kelly revealed.

“I think there is a juicy, juicy story there of the Dylans,” previewed Sullivan. “It would also be interesting if they decide who Melissa’s dad is. Who is that? I mean, that’s interesting. You know, when I auditioned for this role, it said on the page that the character was charming, from the Midwest, and dance skills a plus. and I was a Broadway dancer. So, I hope this means there might be an opportunity to dance on the show at some point.”

Photo: JPI

DARCY DYLAN AND WYATT SPENCER PAIRING?

As for the men on the canvas, Kelly was asked what she thought of a potential Darcy and Wyatt Spencer (Darin Brooks) pairing? To which she responded, “That would be so much fun. I’m such a fan of Darin’s work. Oh, I would have a ball working with him. One of the things that really excited me about Darcy when I was coming into audition for her was that they said that they wanted her to have a  comedic sensibility, comedic chops as they said it.”

Sullivan concluded, “To work with Darin, I would be so lucky. He’s such a great actor and he’s got great comedic timing and he’s just really present and phenomenally talented. He’s a great actor, so I would love that. I mean, anyone on the show would be really fun.  You throw it at the wall (in daytime) and say, ‘Is there a thing? Is there something here?’ Chemistry is chemistry.”

Now below, and in case you missed it, you can check out our full video livestream chat with Kelly Sullivan below.

So, what have you thought of Kelly’s performances thus far as Darcy? Do you think Darcy will turn out to be an opportunistic woman, but who deeply cares and loves her daughter, or will it turn out to be a ruse? Would you like to see Kelly paired with Darin Brooks on-screen as a love interest, and who do you think truly is Melissa Dylan’s biological father? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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