News Brief

Alison Sweeney Is Expecting Her Second Child
People is reporting that Alison Sweeney is expecting her second child. The 31-year-old blonde made the "big reveal" Monday night in front of the Season 6 cast of THE BIGGEST LOSER.

"She told them that, in a season all about family, hers is about to get bigger," says her rep, Carrie Simons.

The actress and her husband, Dave Sanov, have a 3-year-old son, Ben.

VIDEO: Daytime Emmy red carpet interviews
Michael Fairman interviews a number of stars on the red carpet including Kimberly McCullough, Rachel Melvin, Van Hansis, Kristen Alderson and many more.

Say What? The 2008 Emmys Had No Class
Marlena De Lacroix writes: "The star of the 2008 Emmys was a body part your mother blushingly called your 'backside.' Stars couldn’t stop talking about derrieres, and wound up acting a lot like them."

Turnaround: Stefano returns to DAYS
Soap Opera Digest is reporting that Joseph Mascolo is returning to DAYS OF OUR LIVES in August. This is quite surprising as he told the magazine only a few weeks ago that he felt "double-crossed" by the show and said they would have to "come on bended knee" to get him back. Apparently they did.

INTERVIEW: DAYS Headwriter Dena Higley
"NBC was out there and talking about things we could do, and autism came up. I told them a little bit about my situation and they said, 'Yes, do it.' I never would have pushed the story uninvited. I knew that I had to drudge up some painful stuff, and that Connor would have to drudge up some painful stuff. Did we really want to go through this? And the conclusion that we came to was there was no choice--we had to go through this. In one out of every 150 births now an autistic child is born."

Lucci: It's all been because of Erica Kane
"I love the part of Erica Kane. I walk into the studio in the morning and I'm smiling, I'm happy. I work with great actors and I've got one of the best parts ever written for a woman, as far as I'm concerned. I love that the fans and the public have really responded to (Erica) so much that I also have had the chance to go on Broadway in `Annie Get Your Gun' and have a line of jewelry and lingerie and all of that on HSN," she said. "I enjoy it all. But it's all because of Erica Kane."

OLTL's Jason Tam in summer play
Seven new plays and one new musical are on tap for the fifth annual Summer Play Festival, which will be preseted from July 1-27 at the Public Theater.

"The Black Suits," a new rock musical featuring music and lyrics by Joe Iconis, book by Iconis and Robert Maddock and directed by John Simpkins. With the prospect of a dead-end life looming, a group of Long Island teens struggle to make something of their band and of themselves. The cast includes Jason Tam ("A Chorus Line," ONE LIFE TO LIVE).

Brit soap actors turn wedding singers
Britain's top soap opera stars have found themselves another job – hiring themselves out as wedding singers charging 1,250 pounds a tune. CORRIE babe Tupele Dorgu, 30, has launched her own entertainment agency supplying past and present stars for couples" big days. But the likes of Kym Marsh, 32 (who plays Michelle Connor), Suranne Jones, 29 (Karen McDonald) and EMMERDALE's Roxanne Pallett, 25 (Jo Stiles), do not come cheap. They charge 2,500 pounds to sing just two songs.

VIDEOS: ATWT's Daniel Manche (JJ)
1: Dan: The Untold Story
2: Loaded Guns (with ATWT co-star Mick Hazen)


South Africa: Soapie By Cellphone a Milestone
In a first for South Africa, Vodacom has started transmitting SOLIKELIFE, a soap opera produced specifically for cellphones and available free to Vodacom's Vodafone live! customers. From yesterday, more than 1,7-million Vodafone live! users were able to download the soapie, or "mobi-soap", in the format of a one to two minute mobisode (episode) each day. The first series consists of 40 mobisodes.

Body swap plot for HOLLYOAKS
HOLLYOAKS pub landlord Jack Osborne takes the biggest risk of his life when he fakes his own death to secure his family's financial future. Jack - played by James McKenna - is forced to take drastic action when his mounting debts become ever more crippling. In an attempt to free his family from ongoing financial pressures, he attempts to take his own life so his family can cash in on his life insurance. However, when his son Darren (Ashley Taylor Dawson) catches him at his darkest moment, they're forced to search for another way to end their financial misery.