Soap Stars on The Dr. Oz Show

(Dr. Oz, Eileen Fulton, Alison Sweeney and Walt Willey; Photo Credit: ZoCo Productions, LLC/ Jeffrey Neira)

Soap stars invade The Dr. Oz Show today! Check your local listings for time and station.  (See clip below.)

Days Star Has Baby Girl

Alison Sweeney, 31, gave birth to Megan Hope Sanov at 11:48 p.m. last night, Jan. 12. Megan weighed in at 6 pounds, 7 ounces.

"Everyone is doing great," Alison's rep says. "She said she can't wait to watch The Biggest Loser tonight with her daughter."

Alison, who hosts NBC's The Biggest Loser along with playing Sami Brady on Days of Our Lives, also has a 3-year-old son, Ben, with hubby Dave Sanov.

Interview: Soap Stars Share the Magic of the Holiday Season, Part 1

Alison Sweeney (pictured, Sami, Days of Our Lives): I get to experience the magic of Christmas all over again with my son, Ben. A funny memory I have of Christmas last year is Ben kept saying to everyone “Very Christmas!” instead of “Merry Christmas!” It was the cutest thing!

Eric Winter (ex-Rex, Days): My favorite Christmas tradition was always the part where I’d wake up and my mom — or was it Santa? — would place my stocking on my bed for me to have when I’d wake up. For some reason, the fun stuff I’d get in my stocking would be more exciting than actually sitting around the tree and opening gifts. To this day I still get a stocking from my mom.

Eileen Davidson (Ashley, The Young and the Restless): I was born and raised in Southern California, so snow around the holidays just never happened. In fact, I had never seen snow before. So when I was about 8 years old, my mom and dad took me and my six brothers and sisters up to the local mountains (about a three-hour drive from home) for a week over Christmas. They had rented a log cabin for us. We got a tree from the forest and woke up Christmas morning to a blanket of white snow everywhere. It was a very magical Christmas!

Marsha Clark (ex-Hillary, Guiding Light): Since GL taped a month or so in advance, we always got a jump-start on the Christmas merriment. Because the sets were decorated for the season and story lines were involved with the holiday festivities, our Christmas celebrations (in Springfield) started in November!

The wonderful Charita Bauer, who played matriarch Bert Bauer, was our “Santa,” distributing her own thoughtful hand-picked gifts to the cast and crew when Christmas actually arrived (in New York) in December.

Charita and I both lived near each other and would often leave work at the same time. Some of my fondest yuletide memories are of walking home from the studio with Charita through the snowy streets of Manhattan, listening to her hilarious stories and peeking at the holiday audio-animatronics displays in the store windows. Actually, Charita’s warmth, kindness and humor kept the holiday spirit going year-round!

Kyle Lowder (Rick, The Bold and the Beautiful): I moved to New York with my family when I was 3 years old. I believe there is no place like Christmas in New York. I know I am not the only one who feels that way. It is the absolute tradition — I’ve been doing it ever since I moved away from home, and now my wife joins me on the trip. Always Christmas in New York with the family. My parents live only about 30 miles north of Manhattan in the suburbs. So we’re always down to Manhattan seeing the Rockefeller Center tree, the 5th Avenue windows, and everything you can do tradition-wise in Manhattan, we are there doing it. That is something I make an effort to do every year. I’ve missed only two Christmases in New York since 1985, and that’s because my parents were living in Tokyo for my dad’s job. But if they are here, I am in New York with them, and I hope that’s a tradition that never ends.

Interview: Days' Alison Sweeney: "Sami Still Excites Me!"

Even those who don’t watch Days of Our Lives know who Sami Brady is. When Alison Sweeney came onto the Salem scene in 1993 as Roman and Marlena’s scheming, spoiled daughter, she made her mark and never looked back. Sami has lied, schemed and plotted to get what she wants.

However, she is not without heart; it would be impossible to care for this type of character is she were purely evil. Although she is in her 30s, Sami is still a mixed-up kid at heart. And she is rarely without a need for someone to save her.

“I love playing Sami,” Alison tells me. “It still excites me. She’s different every day. Every day I get a script, and it’s a brand-new challenge.”

These days, Sami has children of her own to think about, along with herself — a fact that is not lost on Alison. “I enjoy how she has developed. It’s fun and interesting to go through these changes — parenthood and adult relationships — and that’s part of what makes it so fun and challenging.”

Another challenge, for Sami at least, is trying to hold onto a man. She has been bouncing between Lucas and EJ for a while now, and now it appears that both men have moved on. “She’s had two men fighting over her for so long, and now there are none. She is definitely wondering what happened with that.

“With Lucas, she found a real, adult, mature relationship. Then EJ came along, and he played a bit of the Sami role; he manipulated Sami like she did with Austin.”

While it might seem that Sami is falling into the same traps and making the same mistakes as she always has, Alison can see that with each mistake, Sami is learning and growing. Maybe someday, Sami can channel that into something more productive.

“As an actress, it’s fun for me to be along for the ride,” Alison explains. “But I would love to see Sami get involved with a career of some kind. I’ve always felt that she’s been underestimated in her abilities. If we could get her focused on her career, that would be a good way to vent her emotions and energies.”

Alison has no problem finding productive ways to use her extra time and energy. She is involved in many charitable organizations, her most recent being Thermos’ newest campaign, Hydration for All.

“They approached me to help spread the word, because they were launching their Web site, hydrationforall.com. They’ve asked me to talk about how important proper hydration is for families. It seems obvious that people should know that, but many people really don’t.

“We are especially encouraging kids too. Thermos has some cool containers kids can use, which is helping the environment as well, since disposable bottles are filling our landfills. We are educating kids and making conservation fun for them.”

Aside from her family, Alison has seen firsthand that people need education about proper hydration. As the host of NBC’s The Biggest Loser, she sees that “people don’t have the information. Many people don’t know the basic rules of nutrition. It’s not automatic for everyone. It all starts with drinking more water and less soda and sugary drinks. People simply don’t drink enough water.”

Getting enough water is an important first step toward getting healthy. “In The Biggest Loser, we try to help people get healthy and get active. With this program, we need to get parents to get their kids outside and play and be active.”

Go to hydrationforall.com and see for yourself. There you will find helpful tips, products and programs for helping to make you and your family more healthy and active.

Alison Sweeney Wants to Help Hydrate Your Family

Alison Sweeney (Sami, Days of Our Lives), who just announced she is expecting her second child, joined Thermos at the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas earlier this month (left, Photo Credit: Newscast) to celebrate the launch of Thermos’ HydrationForAll.com Web site.

The new Web site will educate families on the importance of staying properly hydrated, start a community to exchange tips on healthier, more active life, and talk about hydration issues around the world.

I got the chance to speak with Alison about this and will post the interview in a few weeks. However, I wanted to let you all know about this wonderful project she has been working on, and hope that you and your family will find the information useful.

Behind the Scenes: Days' Food Fight!

Who doesn't love a good, old-fashioned food fight? Check out the behind-the-scenes footage of the latest predicament that Sami Brady finds herself in on Days of Our Lives:

Alison Sweeney Is Expecting Baby #2

Days of Our Lives star Alison Sweeney has disclosed that she and hubby David Sanov are expecting baby #2. They also have a 3-year-old son, Benjamin Edward.

Many congrats go out to Alison and her growing family!

On a story-related note: I am very curious to see how this will be dealt with on Days. Will the baby's father be Lucas or E.J.? Predictions?

Sami Brady Would Like to Buy a Vowel

Tune in to the syndicated game show Wheel of Fortune the week of Nov. 12th thru 16th for Celebrity Week. Contestants spinning the wheel will include a few soap stars among the mix: HGTV host Kristen Cunningham; celebrity chef Paula Deen; The Closer star (and recent Y&R guest star) Robert Gossett; Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother); Paige Hemmis (Extreme Makeover); celebrity chef Sandra Lee; Diane Neal (Law & Order: SVU); Jeff Probst (Survivor); Steve Schirripa (The Sopranos); Sherri Shepherd (The View); Robin Strasser (Dorian, One Life to Live); Alison Sweeney (Sami, Days of Our Lives); Gina Tognoni (Dinah, Guiding Light); talk-show host Montel Williams; and Jacob Young (JR, All My Children).

Programming Alert!

Don't forget to catch the premiere episode of The Biggest Loser tonight on NBC at 8 p.m. As you all know, this season the host is Alison Sweeney (Sami, Days). Plus, with the return of trainer Jillian, there should be plenty of twists and surprises!

Sami & Lucas' Eco Wedding

Who would have thought one of soap’s most notorious bad girls would be a part of daytime’s first “green” wedding? And I don’t mean green as in jealousy. Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney) and Lucas Roberts (Bryan Datillo) of “Days of Our Lives” will exchange vows starting Tuesday, May 8th, through Thursday, May 10th, in an environmentally friendly affair.

“Days” and TheKnot.com have partnered up for this special event. The eco-friendly wedding was designed by celebrity event planner Debbie Geller of Geller Events and includes everything from organic and locally grown food and flowers to plantable favors. Other participants include The Hidden Garden (locally grown and/or organic floral arrangements); Ford’s Filling Station (organic, locally grown and free-range catering); NancyKay’s Confections (organic wedding cake); Tacori (certified green business using conflict-free diamonds); Monique Lhuillier (pure silk wedding gown); TheKnot.com (plantable seed card wedding favors); Lehr & Black (celebrity stationers providing invitations, menus and place cards made of recycled paper and raw silk); and Resource One (raw silk linens).

This is actually Sami’s 10th trip down the aisle, but she has only been married once and this time it’s to her soul mate, Lucas. The green wedding is also symbolic of how Sami has turned over a new leaf. Although she still gets herself into trouble, she has good intentions, and that’s about all we can expect from our soap villainesses. Congratulations Sami and Lucas - we’re pulling for you!

For more information on this unprecedented event and tips on how you can make your life more green, visit the Days of our Lives wedding website at www.daysofourlives.com/lumi.

Sami Brady Teaches Crash Course in Motherhood

Tune in Saturday, May 12th, and watch SOAPnet’s tribute to motherhood. Well, how motherhood is on soaps, that is. A marathon will features episodes centering around the not-so-typical working mom Sami Brady and will be hosted by Sami’s portrayer, Alison Sweeney. All the fun, titled “You’ve Got a Mother Thing Coming,” takes place from 9 a.m. to noon on May 12th.

The featured episodes include:
9 a.m.: Lucas comes to Sami's rescue, and the two end up sleeping together. (Episode # 1995-7462, original airdate 2/1/05).

10 a.m.: As she prepares to marry Austin, Sami fights with Lucas. Austin overhears them and learns the truth about Sami. (Episode #2002-9273, original airdate 3/29/02).

11 a.m.: Thinking that Will's been kidnapped, Sami and Lucas go on live TV to plead for his return. (Episode # 2006-10408, original airdate 9/26/06).

So whether you’ve never watched “Days” before or make it appointment TV, Sweeney will appear between each episode to give you a quick course on the life of Sami Brady, fiance Lucas (Bryan Dattilo) and son Will (Christopher Gerse). She’ll also share what it’s like to be a working mom and actress both on- and off-screen.

Alison Sweeney Tapped to Host "The Biggest Loser"

Caroline Rhea is out, one of daytime's biggest troublemakers is in. NBC has hired Alison Sweeney (Sami, Days of Our Lives) to be the host for the next installment of The Biggest Loser. Sweeney, who admittedly has struggled with her own weight in the past, will be pulling double-duty for NBC this fall.

I'm very excited for Alison to receive this chance to spread her hosting wings. As anyone will tell you, she is just the sweetest thing in real life, so contestants won't have to worry that "Sami" might emerge and freak out on them while they are working out on the treadmill or something. I watched the first season of Loser, but lost interest in the next two. Now, I'll be sure to tune in to Season 4 and see Ms. Sweeney in action!