Wayne Northrop Returned to Days of Our Lives, Sonny shot Jagger on GH and More from August 30

In 1991, the late Wayne Northrop (c., pictured with the late Drake Hogestyn, who played John, and Deidre Hall, Marlena) returned to Days of Our Lives as Roman Brady, a role he originated in 1981 and had first exited in 1984. The character appeared to have been recast with Hogestyn beginning in 1986, but Northrop's return shook things up in a big way, leading to the reveal that Hogestyn's "Roman" was actually John. Known as "The Tale of Two Romans," Northrop's return to the show (hot on the heels of Hall's) magnetized viewers to DAYS.

In 2007, Heather Tom made her Bold and Beautiful debut as Katie Logan. Tom, who was already well-known to soap fans for her runs as Victoria Newman on Young and Restless and Kelly Cramer on One Life To Live, went on to win four Daytime Emmys for her work on B&B, bringing her grand total of statuettes to six. Upon marking her 15th anniversary with the show in 2022, Tom marveled to Soap Opera Digest, "I’ve been in the vortex of daytime since I started on Y&R when I was 15 and I remember we were talking about a three-year deal and I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Three years?’ And then I ended up staying there for 13. And when I did start on B&B, I only signed a six-month contract, so I wasn’t sure what was going to happen and then once I jumped in, I was like, ‘I hope this show goes forever and I hope I can be a part of it.’ It’s been a wonderful place to go to work.”

In 2010, As The World Turns's Nancy Hughes passed away. The death of the beloved matriarch, played since the show's very first episode in 1956 by Helen Wagner, was scripted after Wagner passed away on May 1, 2010. On the show, Nancy's son Bob discovered that his dear mother had passed away in her favorite chair. “All of us at As the World Turns are deeply saddened by Helen's passing,” said Executive Producer Christopher Goutman in a statement at the time of Wagner's passing. “She is loved by generations of fans, and while we will miss her greatly, Helen will always remain the heart and soul of ATWT.” Wagner earned the Guinness World Record for playing the same role on television for the longest amount of time and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2004. Don Hastings, who played Bob, noted to Soap Opera Weekly, “At 91, as Churchill once said, ‘Considering the alternative, she did pretty well.’ We assumed she was so tough we’d all die before she would!”

In 2024, Carlo Rota made his General Hospital debut as Jenz Sidwell, a villain responsible for the kidnapping of Lucky Spencer who would ultimately make his way to Port Charles. Recalling the circumstances of his hiring, Rota shared with Soap Opera Digest, "I auditioned for Frank [Valentini, executive producer] in October of ’23 for a completely different role, and it was my first and last in-person audition since the start of the pandemic. [Since 2020], they’ve all been either self-tapes or Zoom — mostly self-tapes, many, many, many self-tapes [laughs]. My manager calls me and says, 'Look, I have this audition for you for General Hospital.' I went in, I met everyone. They were so welcoming and I realized then how much I missed auditioning in the flesh, so to speak... I said, 'Frank, this is the first time I’ve auditioned in front of people in a long time, and I loved it! Thank you so much for having me in.' But then, you know, nothing happened. Then, out of the blue, a couple of months ago, my manager calls me and says, 'Oh yeah, there’s a role for you on General Hospital.' I said, 'What?!' And then it went from there. My first day, everyone was super-welcoming on set, and I was lucky enough to work with Jonathan Jackson [as Lucky], who’s been doing this for a long time, and honestly, I’ve loved it! It’s just been a joy to go on set every day."

In 2024 on General Hospital, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) shot his longtime foe, federal agent John "Jagger" Cates, dead on the grounds of the Quartermaine estate. The controversial story move marked the end of Adam Harrington's tenure in the role, which had kicked off on February 2, 2024.