Casting News Galore!

Lots of casting news to report, kids, so let's get right into it:

• Grant Aleksander (pictured) has confirmed that he will be returning to the role of Phillip Spaulding on Guiding Light beginning in January 2009.
• Jay Kenneth Johnson is leaving Days of Our Lives after stalled contract negotiations. Some report that it all came down to money -- while Days has been renewed through 2010, they had to massively trim down the budget, and it would appear that Jay was asking for too much. While others say it came down to story -- or lack thereof. The way his character has been being treated lately, I can't say that I blame him for picking up and leaving.
  
• Drake Hogestyn (John Black) and Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans) are OUT! Days' executive producer Ken Corday told Soap Opera Digest: "The couple will be happily reunited after a long period of angst and separation and will be off-screen after January for an unknown period of time. It was a very tough decision to make."
• Beginning Dec. 12, look for MacKenzie Westmore (ex-Sheridan, Passions) to play Annie's psychiatrist (boy, does she ever need one!), Dr. Sinclair, on All My Children.
• One Life to Live's Andrea Evans is out after her six-month stint as Tina Lord. However, they have kept the door open for her to return at any time.
• Rebecca Budig will be exiting All My Children in early spring 2009, when her one-year contract expires. Rebecca cited the bicoastal lifestyle (she is on the East Coast, her home and hubby, Bob Guiney, are on the West Coast) as the reason for her departure.