News Brief

Sudsy tempest on DAY OF OUR LIVES
Every few months, soap fans work themselves into a major lather over this plotline or that casting decision, and this week they’re focused on a doozy of a twist, one worthy of a soap plot itself - the firing of Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn.

Pickles galore for expectant Alison Sweeney
With her current pregnancy, Alison "went through about a two-month phase when I just couldn't get enough pickles." So Alison "asked the prop department to put them in the fridge in the safe house, and then it just became this running gag. You'll see them appear several more times in upcoming episodes," which is okay for the 32-year-old because "sometimes we shoot those scenes at like 9 a.m., and I am still rarin' to go -- psyched to bite into a cold, delicious, sour treat."

VIDEO: Soap Secrets From The Set Of Y&R
KDKA's Brenda Waters recently made a trip to the set of the soap in Los Angeles. Now, she's offering fans in the 'Burgh a look at what's going on behind-the-scenes and sharing a few soap secrets right from Genoa City. First up, Brenda gets the scoop in a one-on-one interview with soap legend Jeanne Cooper.

Guy Burnet on HOLLYOAKS "thriller"
The popular character returns in a special E4 spin-off mini series HOLLYOAKS LATER on November 24, allowing Guy to play the cheeky student who fell for his gay best friend one more time. And Guy reveals he couldn't resist the chance to return for the show, which he describes as "a thriller" set in Scotland.

"I read the plot and it was a great story involving his sister Steph and we got the people from The Bourne Supremacy to do the stunt work on it, so they put a lot of effort into it and it really looks good," the 25-year-old says.

In HOLLYOAKS LATER Craig, Steph (Carly Stenson) and Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins) head off for a break in a remote cottage, only to find that missing Hollyoaks villain Niall Rafferty (Barry Sloane) is there looking for Steph.

"The main thread of the story is Niall coming back to get his 'family'," Guy explains. "Obviously Craig's in the way and it ends in tragedy for me, or him... but I can't tell you who dies."

EASTENDERS beats EMMERDALE in Tuesday night ratings
Hour-long editions of the Yorkshire-based soap have tended to outrate EASTENDERS this year but in recent weeks the roles have reversed.

Last night EASTENDERS notched up 6.93m (31.1%) for BBC One from 7.30pm, while EMMERDALE managed 6.22m (28.7%) for the 7pm hour. In the 30 minutes that both shows were on air, EMMERDALE was down to 5.6m (25.2%).

B&B moves to prime time in Australia
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is the most popular daytime series in the world. But now Channel 10 in Australia will run it in prime time. After failing to keep an audience with endless repeats of THE SIMPSONS, Ten yesterday made the unprecedented move of programming a daytime soap in the evening.

B&B will be up against stiff competition when it debuts at 6pm next month: news bulletins on Seven and Nine and a documentary about the British monarchy on the ABC. Ten bought a new Australian soapie set in Manly, OUT OF THE BLUE, which runs at 10.30pm five nights a week -- "a slot certain to kill off any program."