Rick Hearst On His Return to B&B

Rick Hearst returns to THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL on July 17 as Whip Jones. He spoke with TV Guide Magazine's Michael Logan on his return to the soap and how his exit from GENERAL HOSPITAL came about.

People had some crazy perceptions of what went down. “Machiavellian Hearst dumps GH for B&B!” Here’s the truth of the matter. I was placed on recurring status and I was a gun for hire but still in the middle of a story with GH. I auditioned for some pilots and the season finale of CSI: NEW YORK. Then, lo and behold, one day I’m sitting at home and I overhear my wife talking on the phone for 5 or 10 minutes to somebody named Brad — and I’m thinking, “Well, that’s it. She’s found somebody else. The marriage is over.” Suddenly, she hands me the phone and says “Honey, it’s [B&B executive producer] Brad Bell.”

Brad just cuts through all the bull and goes right to the person. He’s just so up and so positive. He said, “I heard the news” and asked if I’d like to come back. It all happened so fast. [GH head writer] Bob Guza really had to move to get me out. There wasn’t time to really do anything. Ric just gets in an elevator with an “I’ll be back” —full-on Terminator-style. It was so crazy. I walked out the door at GH on May 21 and reported for work at B&B the very next day. In one way, it was like being shot out of a friggin’ cannon. In another way, it was like coming home. It was such a nice, easy transition. [Laughs] Let’s face it, it’s not a big stretch. I’m going from a fast-talking, scheming attorney to a fast-talking, scheming publicist.

Read the full interview, including what's coming up for Whip, at TVGuideMagazine.com.