Passion's Live Blog Feb. 12

In honor of Valentine's Day, one of Harmony's newest couples, Paloma (Silvana Arias) and Noah (Dylan Fergus), will be hosting a live blog on Monday, February 12 at 4:00 p.m. (PST). For more information go to www.nbc.com/passions.

So check it out. Maybe you'll learn some Passion's secrets!

Congrats to OLTL's Jill Mitwell

The winners of the 2006 Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement Awards and the recipients of the Guild's 2007 Career Achievement Awards were announced February 4, 2007 during the 59th Annual DGA Awards Dinner at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DAYTIME SERIALS was awarded to JILL MITWELL One Life To Live - Episode #9779 (ABC)

Ms. Mitwell's Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Teresa Anne Cicala, Paul Glass Stage Managers: Richard A. Manfredi, Alan P. Needleman Production Associate: Nathalie Rodriguez.

This is Ms. Mitwell's third win and seventh DGA Award nomination in this category. She won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Daytime Serials for One Life to Live "Episode #8295" in 2000 and "Episode #6356" in 1993. She was nominated for One Life to Live "Episode #8691" in 2002, "Episode #8012" in 1999, "Episode #7761" in 1998, and "Episode #7285" in 1996.

Stuart Damon NOT Coming to "B&B"

Rumors have been swirling as of late that Stuart Damon (ex-Alan Quartermaine, "GH") would be coming to "The Bold and the Beautiful" as Nick Marone's (Jack Wagner) father, Massimo (who was formerly played by Joseph Mascolo).

Well, it seems that it is only a rumor. According to "B&B" spokesperson, Eva Demirjian, there is: "No truth to that rumor."

Susan Lucci to the Rescue!

Let’s face it. Susan Lucci (Erica Kane, “All My Children”) is ridiculously gorgeous and has a figure the likes of which I haven’t been able to maintain since my turbo metabolism stalled out a decade ago. And to think this woman recently became a grandmother! So who better than the fabulous Erica Kane to give us advice for the bedroom? No, I’m not talking about that kind of advice, I’m talking about our jammies.

(Photo courtesy ABC Television)

No more holey t-shirts and faded sweatpants to greet The Sandman, this Valentine’s Day we shall strive to snap out of our fashion funk. Lucci appears on the “Rachael Ray” show Feb. 14th (check local listings) to give some lucky women a sleepwear makeover. Staff at the “Rachael Ray” show conducted a national search for “The Worst PJs in America,” and hundreds of women sent in videos of themselves wearing their not-so-finest. Three of the worst offenders were chosen, including one woman who wears an adult-size onesie to bed. What they didn’t know when they were invited to appear on the show was that Lucci would make a surprise appearance to take these ladies under her wing. The Queen of Soaps will also be promoting her own line of lingerie for “real women,” which debuts this February.

Jack Deveraux Is Coming Back ...

... but he's not staying. Matthew Ashford confirmed to the Bradenton Herald that Jack will be back in Salem sometime later this winter or early spring for a limited run.

He will not be bringing along wife, Jennifer (Melissa Reeves). However, since his stay will be short, I think we can safely assume that the couple is still together. Most likely Jack is coming back to Salem for some other story-line reason, other than to heal a broken heart.

My guess is that is will have something to do with the DiMera/Tarot Card mystery. (I just put in a query to Days publicists and will let you know if I hear anything back from them.)

Why do you think Jack is back? Cast your vote in the poll below:

Poll from CWT

EXCLUSIVE! Victoria Rowell to Leave "Y&R" -- and I Know Why!

Pictured are actress Victoria Rowell and rapper 50 Cent at the December 5th
premiere of their new movie, HOME OF THE BRAVE. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/courtesy of WireImage.com.)

Drucilla Winters will be exiting Genoa City come April. Sources have confirmed that actress Victoria Rowell has asked to be let out of her contract early, and The Young and the Restless producers have complied.

Her exit is spurring rumors among the show's fans that Dru might be the one who murdered Carmen Mesta.

Judging by my interview with her earlier this year, Victoria is never one to settle down and be inert. She has a book coming out this spring, The Women Who Raised Me, has an active feature-film career (Eve's Bayou and Home of the Brave) and is very active in various charities and such.

I have put in an inquiry to her publicist as to Victoria's official statement on the matter, and will get back to you as soon as I hear back from her.

UPDATE: Victoria's publicist, Wyllisa R. Bennett, just confirmed my suspicion as to the reason for her leaving the show. She writes, "It's a really busy time with the book tour for her memoir, The Women Who Raised Me (HarperCollins) due to hit bookstores April 9."

Daytime Emmy Pre-Nominations

The Daytime Emmys announced their pre-nominees last week. What this means is each show nominates two actors and actresses for each of the six acting categories, and then a panel watches the tapes submitted by each actor/actress and votes on who the nominees will be this year. The nominees will be announced on Mar. 14, and the Daytime Emmy Awards will be broadcast on CBS on June 15.

This system was designed so that shows with large casts couldn’t dominate the nomination field. Every show gets two submissions for each category, and from there the panel can decide to mix it up depending on who they think are the best. Last year people were upset because “Guiding Light,” which has one of the smallest casts, dominated the list of nominees, but that’s just the way it works out sometimes. This year another show could dominate. You just never know who is going to impress the judges.

Here is a list of the pre-screen nominees from each show, meaning only these actors are eligible to win an Emmy this year:

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR PRE-NOMINEES:
AMC: Thorsten Kaye (Zach) and Michael E. Knight (Tad)
ATWT: Grayson McCouch (Dusty) and Michael Park (Jack)
B&B: John McCook (Eric) and Jack Wagner (Nick)
Days: Stephen Nichols (Steve) and Peter Reckell (Bo)
GH: Anthony Geary (Luke) and Steve Burton (Jason)
GL: Ricky Paull Goldin (Gus) and Ron Raines (Alan)
OLTL: Michael Easton (John) and Trevor St. John (Todd)
Passions: Galen Gering (Luis)
Y&R: Peter Bergman (Jack) and Christian LeBlanc (Michael)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS PRE-NOMINEES:
AMC: Bobbie Eakes (Krystal) and Alicia Minshew (Kendall)
ATWT: Maura West (Carly) and Martha Byrne (Lily)
B&B: Susan Flannery (Stephanie) and Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke)
Days: Kristian Alfonso (Hope) and Alison Sweeney (Sami)
GH: Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) and Laura Wright (Carly)
GL: Crystal Chappell (Olivia) and Kim Zimmer (Reva)
OLTL: Kassie DePaiva (Blair) and Bree Williamson (Jessica)
Passions: Lindsay Harley (Theresa) and Juliet Mills (Tabitha)
Y&R: Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) and Jeanne Cooper (Katherine)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR PRE-NOMINEES:
AMC: Jeffrey Carlson (Zarf) and Jacob Young (JR)
ATWT: Trent Dawson (Henry) and Paul Leyden (Simon)
B&B: Winsor Harmon (Thorne) and Lorenzo Lamas (Hector)
Days: Bryan Dattillo (Lucas) and James Reynolds (Abe)
GH: Rick Hearst (Ric) and Jason Thompson (Patrick)
GL: Robert Bogue (AC) and Jordan Clarke (Billy)
OLTL: Dan Gauthier (Kevin) and Tuc Watkins (David)
Passions: Eric Martsolf (Ethan) and Ben Masters (Julian)
Y&R: Greg Rikaart (Kevin) and Kristoff St. John (Neil)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS PRE-NOMINEES:
AMC: Cady McClain (Dixie) and Alexa Havins (Babe)
ATWT: Kelley Menighan Hensley (Emily) and Marie Wilson (Meg)
B&B: Lesli Kay (Felicia) and Hunter Tylo (Taylor)
Days: Renee Jones (Lexie) and Julie Pinson (Billie)
GH: Genie Francis (Laura) and Rebecca Herbst (Liz)
GL: Beth Chamberlin (Beth) and Gina Tognoni (Dinah)
OLTL: Renee Elise Goldsberry (Evangeline) and Heather Tom (Kelly)
Passions: Cathy Jeneen Doe (Simone) and Emily Harper (Fancy)
Y&R: Tracey E. Bregman (Lauren) and Eileen Davidson (Ashley)

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTOR PRE-NOMINEES:
AMC: Brent Weber (Sean) and Michael B. Jordan (Reggie)
ATWT: Van Hansis (Luke) and Jesse Soffer (Will)
B&B: Due to age restrictions in this category, no cast member was eligible
Days: Blake B. Berris (Nick) and Darin Brooks (Max)
GH: Dylan Cash (Michael) and Scott Clifton (Dillon)
GL: John Driscoll (Coop) and Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan)
OLTL: Eddie Alderson (Matthew) and John Paul Lavoisier (Rex)
Passions: James Stevenson (Jared)
Y&R: Bryton McClure (Devon) and Hunter Allan (Noah)

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTRESS PRE-NOMINEES:
AMC: Leven Ramblin (Lily) and Eden Riegel (Bianca)
ATWT: Jennifer Landon (Gwen) and Alexandra Chando (Maddie)
B&B: Mackenzie Mauzy (Phoebe)
Days: Ashley Benson (Abby) and Rachel Melvin (Chelsea)
GH: Julie Berman (Lulu) and Kirsten Storms (Maxie)
GL: Stephanie Gatschet (Tammy) and Marcy Rylan (Lizzie)
OLTL: Kristen Alderson (Starr) and Melissa Gallo (Adriana)
Passions: Heidi Mueller (Kay) and Danica Stewart (Jessica)
Y&R: Christel Khalil (Lily) and Darcy Rose Byrnes (Abby)

SPOILERS! Week of Feb. 5

AMC: JR reveals his true colors when he attempts to blackmail Babe.
ATWT: Someone is arrested for stealing the bonds -- will that sneaky Adam get away with it?
B&B: Phoebe finds herself preoccupied with Rick when former crush Shane comes back to town.
Days: While under hypnosis, Steve learns what the DiMeras did to him, and it isn't pretty.
GH: Elizabeth and Alan both need medical attention, but only one of them will get it.
GL: Reva feels guilty for keeping Jonathan's secret, while Lizzie suspects he may still be alive.
OLTL: Nash and Jessica continue to fight their attraction for one another.
Passions: Chad breaks up with his part-time lover, but the scorned one has other ideas.
Y&R: Lauren, carrying a gun, is faced with the impossible decision of telling Sheila and Phyllis apart.

Eileen Davidson Comes To "The Bold and the Beautiful"

In a "Daytime Dial" exclusive, I can confirm that Eileen Davidson (ex-Ashley, "The Young and the Restless") will be joining "B&B" as Ashley Abbott. Her first day on the set is this Thursday, Feb. 8, and her first airdate will be March 9, confirmed by Eva Demirjian, spokesperson for "B&B."

The premise for Ashley's arrival (since we last heard she was on her way to Hong Kong), Brooke calls Ashley and asks her to come to L.A. to help develop a signature scent to go with the Forresters' new clothing line. No word yet on whether daughter Abby will come with her.

Here is an excerpt from the interview I just conducted with Eileen that will run in newspapers Feb. 16:

“Brad (Bradley Bell, ‘B&B’ head writer and executive producer) called me out of the blue,” Eileen tells me. “I was really thrilled that he called. After ‘Y&R,’ I didn’t really put any feelers out (for new acting work). I spent that time getting through the holidays — I have a 3-1/2-year-old, plus I have 11- and 13-year-old stepsons. I figured I would contemplate my next move in January. I thought, ‘The first week in January, I’ve really gotta think about this.’”

This whole situation was new for Eileen. “I’ve never been out of work before when it wasn’t my own choice.”

But it was also a chance to spread her wings, along with Ashley’s. “What’s so cool is I’ve done so many things in daytime television, but this is a whole different thing. The second time around (playing Ashley on “Y&R”), Ashley never really got to live to her full potential. But now she’s in a whole new arena, without all the baggage she had on the other show.” Maybe the third time will be the charm.

So tune in March 9 for Eileen Davidson's debut on "The Bold and the Beautiful." I know I will!