Soap Opera: Uncensored — Issue 4

by Nelson Branco

 SOAP OPERA: UNCENSORED

  Volume 1, Issue 4

  BY NELSON BRANCO

  Copyright 2011 Nelson Branco

  INSIDE: Is Dirty Soap’s Farah Fath Returning to DAYS; John-Paul Lavoisier GH-bound? Plus: Is Kirsten Storms coming back to Dirty Soap? Report: Is ABC Axing GH in January? Katie to debut in May? One Life’s Trevor St. John Speaks! Lisa Rinna back to DAYS! Victoria Rowell’s Frantic Call to Y&R’s Debbi Morgan! Darnell Williams signs with Prospect Park! DAYS Drama: Kristian Alfonso and Me! Top 10 Ways To Fix Y&R! One Life’s Terri Conn out; Fiona Hutchison in! Susan Lucci’s new TV job! B&B: Hope… and Thomas? GH Writer Jumps Ship to B&B! Guess which male actors are headed back to One Life? Exclusive: Martha Byrne on SoapClassics.com! DAYS: Bo and Hope renew their vows! Plus: More Nadia Bjorlin and Crystal Chappell! GH’s Nancy Lee Grahn vs. Vera Wang! Last week’s Soap Reviews; Next Week’s Preview Cheat Sheet! And every week: Unbelievable Blind Items!

  UNCENSORED MASTHEAD:

  FOUNDER/EDITOR: Nelson Branco

  EDITOR AT LARGE: Denette Wilford

  LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER/EDITOR:

  Uncensored, Soap-style!

   

  Follow Soap Opera Uncensored at: @nelliebranco or @SoapUncensored

  UNCENSORED QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

  “Young is a nice way of saying you’re not sexy enough.”

  —GH’s Kimberly McCullough to Soap Opera Digest regarding the firing of co-star Lexi Ainsworth

  Translation: I’m so leaving this show! Or getting a boob job.

  “She sent me an email and asked me point-blank if I was going to be taking over her part. I told her in no uncertain terms, ‘Absolutely not.’ I wouldn’t even think about trying to step into her shoes. That would be like somebody trying to play [AMC’s] Angie. I know Vicky’s fans would be so angry about that. I told her, ‘I would not want to be handed that baton.’”

  —Y&R’s Debbi Morgan in Soap Opera Digest

  Translation: Last thing I want is someone spitting at me!

  “As a result of Lisa’s return, Robin and Patrick will embark on a journey that will mark them for the rest of their lives.”

  —GH head writer Garin Wolf in Soap Opera Digest

  Translation: Yep, still no original ideas from me! And our viewers will embark on a journey to get the hell out of daytime!

  “I am a self-admitted political junkie but I don’t think politics are in my future. Too many skeletons.”

  —Y&R’s Sean Kanan tweets that he won’t be throwing his name into the political ring

  Translation: I did not have sexual relations with that gay soap columnist!

  COVER STORY:

  Gotta Have Fath: Dirty Soap and One Life’s Farah Speaks Out!

  Move over, Kim Kardashian! As reality-TV’s breakout new “vixen,” Farah Fath has people buzzing on Twitter and Facebook about her “feud” with former co-star and BFF Kirsten Storms; her charming romance with real-life leading man John-Paul Lavoisier; and her myriad four-legged children on Dirty Soap.

  As one of my favourite people in the universe, Uncensored caught up with Fath late last week to catch up on all things soap, love, and reality. And there was a lot to catch up on because Fath has had quite a year (and it’s not even over yet!): Her controversial character, Gigi, was killed off (or was she?); her soap, One Life, was cancelled (or was it?); she’s headlining E!’s hot new show, Dirty Soap; she’s moving to L.A. from New York (or is she?); and she’s now playing her evil twin sister, Stacy on One Life (or is she?).

  If I had given Fath a preview of 2011 last year, she would have more than likely slapped me in the face and asked: “Whatcha talkin’ ‘bout, Nellie Nello?”

  Fath laughs: “It’s hard to process because I’m so busy.”

  Has her life changed since Dirty Soap premiered? “I haven’t noticed anything different, to be honest. I’ve only been recognized one or two times. There are no huge offers pouring in. I’m not getting a lot of press. I think with reality shows you need to give them some time to take off. I don’t think the Kardashians or The Real Housewives broke out right away. You have to give reality shows a few seasons for them to connect with the audience. A lot of it is word of mouth.”

  As an actor, Fath admits it wasn’t an easy decision to join Dirty Soap. “We were really hesitant,” recalls Fath. “We had a lot of reservations. They made it sound at first that the show would be all about the girls. We were under the impression that John-Paul would just make an appearance occasionally. But once they got to know his personality, he became a bigger part of the show. Had he known he’d been on a lot, I don’t know if that would’ve swayed his decision to join had he known he’d be more of a star of the show. It was supposed to just be about me, Kirsten, Nadia and Kelly.”

  Luckily for us Dirty aficionados, ABC didn’t stand in Fath’s way, unlike Y&R and B&B, which both refused Christel Khalil and Adrienne Frantz sudsy access to the exclusive reality club. “ABC has been behind all of us the whole time,” she reports. “No one said we shouldn’t do this… which is strange because J-P and I were offered a reality show about two or three years ago, but at the time ABC nixed it. So I was surprised that ABC’s tune changed, but because they cancelled One Life, they probably thought they should throw us a bone. It’s not like they could [ethically] prevent us from moving on professionally.”

  If Dirty is renewed, would Fath consider being a part of season two? “Yes,” she answers. “Contractually, we have to — well, at least J-P and I — be a part of season two. However, I don’t know if there will be a season two. I don’t think that decision has been made. I can’t with all confidence say that the entire cast will be back for the second season. Hey, they may not want us all back. They might stick with some of us and recast a few of us. Heck, with Kirsten’s illness… she may not even be back for the rest of this season. There is no telling what will happen….”

  Much has been made of Fath and Storms’ perfect frenemy relationship. Did Fath know before she signed on that her former DAYS co-star had signed on? “Yes,” she says. “They weren’t really entertaining any possibility of having a One Life actor on Dirty Soap because the entire show was supposed to be L.A.-based — and it’s pretty costly flying a crew across the country. But my name kept coming up. The whole point of the show was about having these actresses, who knew each other and grew up with each other, so after talking to Nadia [Bjorlin] and Kirsten, the producers couldn’t deny a little Farah Fath anymore. I was the last person to get the offer.”

  Does Fath think she’s being cast in the “bitch” role due to the magic of editing? “Yeah,” she laughs. “Every reality show needs a feisty female. I’m not a mean-spirited person, but I can see now out of all the females on the show how my personality lends itself to that ‘bitchy character.’ Everyone has to play a part. My feistiest moments make the final cut. When I’m being all sweet and affectionate with J-P, none of those scenes make the final cut! Having said that, I was surprised that a couple of episodes back they put in me being worried about Kirsten’s illness. I thought they were going to keep the ‘I-hate-Kirsten’ thread going but they didn’t…. Going into the show, I never thought once that I would be seen as the bitch of the show because I never see myself as that kind of person in real life.”

  Now you know what reality-TV stars mean by getting ‘a good edit!’ But how real is the feud between Storms and Fath? “Honestly, we’ve had to make it an issue for the show, you know what I mean? I do not have any ill will towards Kirsten. And Kirsten understands — and the cast understands — that there has to be conflict on the show for it to be entertaining. We’re not making up conflict but we are amplifying it. We’re trying to
make a good show. All of these relationships are real but at the end of the day, we’re making a TV program so we’re all trying to be interesting as possible. I knew that that a tumultuous relationship between two girls would be interesting to an audience. Kirsten and I could have easily decided to say, ‘Hey, let’s be friends on the show.’ But we’re not idiots…. So we did what we needed to do.’”

  But really, who cares about Fath vs. Storms?! The real breakout stars of the series are the mothers!

  Fath laughs, “Omigosh! I’m not sure our parents grasp what is going on. I thought when our parents were being filmed, they’d be on their best behaviour. My mom was so oblivious to the cameras. And the same thing with Fary. She says whatever the hell she feels. My mom was a little bit more nervous. But yeah, the parents are sort of stealing the show. And so is my dad! Wait until you see him. He was born to be a star. If there is a season two, the parents will play a bigger part, that’s for sure, because I know they’re a big hit.

  Since shooting the series keeps extending, will we be lucky to have more than the originally scheduled eight eppys? “Right now, there are only supposed to be eight episodes. The show is supposed to wrap on Oct. 25,” she says. “We just have a few filler things to shoot to round out the episodes. It’s been a weird process!”

  But now on to soaps: Did Fath know that she’d be back playing Gigi’s evil, presumed-dead sister, Stacy, when One Life killed off the waitress with a heart of gold? “Yes, that was the plan all along,” confirms Fath. “I knew that back in March. I was only supposed to have four weeks off, but between that time, when I was told that Gigi was being killed off and I would be playing Stacy, the show was cancelled. So there were all these rewrites. [Executive Producer Frank Valentini] said to me, ‘We’re not having you come back now but we’ll keep you on as a ghost.’ Luckily, they never took me off contract. They always wanted me on the show, which was flattering. Had they