— Tonya Lee Williams will be taking The Young and the Restless’ Dr. Olivia Barber Winters over to The Bold and the Beautiful to share scenes with Olivia’s first cousin, Justin Barber (played by Aaron D. Spears). Williams’ episodes will air on February 1st and 2nd. Williams told TV Guide that she’s been “waiting for this for 20 years! So many of the Y&R stars – including all my closest friends like Heather Tom and Don Diamont – have crossed over to B&B. But me? Never! So this came completely out of nowhere, like a magical present.” TV Guide also reports that the reason why Olivia will turn up in Los Angeles is because of a major event in Justin’s life. Fans hoping to see more of Olivia anywhere can rest easy, she’ll be back on Y&R this winter for a longer stay.
— Days of our Lives has let go Mark Hapka (Nathan). The actress expressed disappointment in the decision last night on twitter and then later a chat. Hapka first apologized to fans that waited a year for Nathan and Melanie to reunite, only to have the writers scrap the storyline. Hapka spoke to the producers a few months back to discuss his concerns with his character’s direction and didn’t feel as though he was given a fair chance to show his ability. The actors also shared how he felt that the energy put into characters and storylines was not evenly distributed and went as far as to say that he doesn’t know who got the final say [about his exit] but “that person is going to be the demise of this show if there isn’t a powershift.”
— One Life to Live will age the character of Jack Manning. Carmen LoPorto has been let go and Andrew Trischitta will take over beginning February 22nd. Todd and Blair’s son will now be 15 years old.
— Alexa Havins (ex-Babe, All My Children) has joined the cast of Torchwood.
— All My Children and Hot in Cleveland will have a crossover event next month. Wendie Malick’s character, Victoria Chase, will land a role on AMC has a housekeeper named Gertie who gets a gig as a bartender at ConFusion after Erica fires her. Malick’s AMC episode will air on February 24th, while Susan Lucci (Erica), Darnell Williams (Jesse) and Michael E. Knight (Tad) will air on the sitcom on February 16th and 23rd.
— Another World’s Jacqueline Courtney (ex-Alice) passed away on December 20th of metastatic melanoma. In addition to playing one half of daytime’s most famous love triangle (Alice/Steve/Rachel), Courtney also appeared on OLTL as Pat.
— TV Guide Canada is reporting that the 38th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will take place in Las Vegas on Sunday, June 29th. No word yet if the ceremony will be televised.
