Seriously? OMG! WTF?

The daytime drama Guiding Light will celebrate its 70th anniversary with a year of volunteering. The CBS show’s cast and crew will kick off the effort in January, spending a week in the Gulf Coast to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. In conjunction with the volunteer organization Hands On Network, Guiding Light stars will take on service projects in a different city each month. "Seventy years ago, Irna Phillips created Guiding Light with one fundamental theme in mind: the brotherhood of man," the show’s executive producer, Ellen Wheeler, said in a statement. "We’re hoping that this theme … will motivate people to be the change they wish to see in their communities." Guiding Light holds the Guinness World Record as the longest-running show in broadcast history. It debuted on radio in 1937 and moved to television in 1952.

USA Today (story) and Guiding Light (photo) 

Believe it or not soap stars are some of most giving of their time in the biz. Maybe because they really appreciate the work and don’t take it for granted? 

Whoa! CBS’ The Bold and the Beautiful has cast Kyle Lowder (ex-Brady Black, Days of our Lives) as the new Rick Forrester. Lowder reported to work on the B&B set last week, and he first airs on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007. And happily, he’s on contract. Rick is the son of fashionistas Eric Forrester and Brooke Logan (John McCook, Katherine Kelly Lang). The character has recently been away on business in Europe. Rick returns to L.A. to support his daddy’s new fashion label, Forrester Originals. FYI, Justin Torkildsen played Rick full time from 2001 to 2004. He has made return visits during the last couple of years, but they’ve always been brief. Clearly, B&B chief Bradley Bell is now aiming for a more mature take on the character.

TV Guide 

Personally I have not missed him on Days, so I am glad he is going to soap I do not watch.

OK, just one last post about NBC’s Days of our Lives today. I know, I totally have Salem fever! As previously reported, Renee Jones has been let go from her role as Dr. Alexandra "Lexie" Carver. I can now tell you that Jones and Rhasaan Orange — who plays Lexie’s cop lover, Thomas Edward "Tek" Kramer — will last be seen in Salem on Monday, Jan. 22, 2007. Will Lexie and Tek hook up and skip town together? We’ll have to stay tuned and see. But it’s disappointing that Lexie — who is Stefano’s daughter — is exiting the canvas just as Days is firing up its DiMera plotlines again. "Although Renee is leaving the show, her character is still at large and has the possibility to return," states Days’ executive producer, Ken Corday. In other Days news, soap vet Judi Evans has also been let go from her role as the trashy, tacky and superfun Bonnie Lockhart. No last airdate is available for her yet. What a Debbie Downer. Bwa bwaaaa…

TV Guide 

I am so happy that Lexie is gone!!! But I am so upset they are getting rid of Judi Evans. I was really hoping Bonnie and Patch were going to get to do a scene together and that he would ask her if she is his sister!!! But sadly that will not happen…:(

Grammy Award-winning recording artist Nelly Furtado will appear on ABC’s "One Life to Live" on Friday, February 23 (taping on Tuesday, December 12 at the "OLTL" studio in New York City). She will appear as herself and perform "Say It Right" and Grammy-nominated "Promiscuous" from her latest album, "Loose," at Antonio Vega’s (Kamar de los Reyes) club, Capricorn. "The cast and I congratulate Nelly on her Grammy nomination and are thrilled that she will perform her nominated song on ‘One Life to Live,’" says executive producer Frank Valentini. "We are proud to have hosted a tremendously talented group of musicians on our show and always look for opportunities to collaborate with artists from the music industry."

Soapdom 

I love that all these musicians are doing soaps like Clay Aiken and Rhianna!

Great news, suds fans: The charming and exquisitely handsome Jay Kenneth Johnson is reprising his old part as Philip Kiriakis on Days of our Lives. The NBC sudser confirms to TVGuide.com that JKJ reports back to work at Days next week. His first airdate is Jan. 12, 2007. Hurrah! FYI, JKJ left Days in 2002 to try his luck in prime-time TV and films. In the minds of many viewers — yours truly included — he was the one and only Philip Kiriakis. So when Philip recast Kyle Brandt left Days at the end of his three-year contract this fall, many hoped JKJ would return to his signature soap role. When I recently interviewed Days head writer Hogan Sheffer, I couldn’t resist nudging him to bring back JKJ. "Jay will certainly be considered when the time comes [to recast Philip]," Sheffer agreed. "He’s a great-looking guy, and everybody loved him on Days."

TV Guide (story) and JKJ-Now (photo) 

I can’t wait!!! Now if they only brought back the old Shawn I would be a very happy camper.

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