Days' Mass Exodus

Hot on the heels the departures of several heavyweights on Days of Our Lives — Deidre Hall, Drake Hogestyn, Mary Beth Evans, Stephen Nichols, Leann Hunley and Thaao Penghlis — Rachel Melvin (Chelsea Brady) announced that she is quitting the soap after four years. Her character will leave town on the premise of helping her mother, Billie, who has been in an accident overseas. Her final appearance should be at the end of April/beginning of May.

The 24-year-old actress, who has played Chelsea since 2005, has expressed her desire to try projects outside of daytime. "It was never my intention to be on a soap opera for as long as I was," she told Soap Opera Digest. "When you think of soaps, you think 'Oh, beautiful people'; and I never categorized myself that way, and I guess I just kind of discounted the possibility of working on one."