How about Lucy Deakins? She was Lily #1.

I say we start some form of a campaign calling for the firing of Christopher, Jean and the rehiring of Lily! Barbara Bloom has let these two go far enough!

Lily (Flower) themed letterhead...

I'm sorry to hear she's leaving, but I won't miss the character as she's being written now (and for the last while).

Best of luck to Martha.

I'm sorry to hear she's leaving, but I won't miss the character as she's being written now (and for the last while).

Best of luck to Martha.

I feel the same way. I'd rather see Sierra show up and Lily take a little break. It sounds like the show made her a generous offer, so leaving is on MB. She's choosing to go, it's not like she's been forced out like so many others.

She might not be being forced out, but she knows what she wants and I hold her in the highest respect for wanting what she wants and not backing down. Martha has been on ATWT show far long enough to know the show better than any new headwriter or E.P. that walks in the door. If she wants something and is sure to quit if she doesn't get it, hand it to her on a silver platter.

Martha has been with the show since she was a child. She's grown as a woman and as an actress before our very eyes. Shame on the execs for thinking that Iraqi lovechildren, 20-year old married couples with children, horny blondes, Swedish sluts, and whiney pre-teens are the future of the show. The future of the show is so much more than that. But yet, at every promising opportunity, TPTB kick legacy and talent to the side for a more abhorrable approach of leisure and lust.

I hate this show so much. And they're about to hear it. This show has been spiraling downward in the abyss of space for a while now and frankly, Martha Byrne was the only thing that has kept my interest intact. I wouldn't be surprised if Kelly and Maura and Elizabeth and Kathleen and Jon and Michael take it upon themselves to give the execs an earful. And I can certainly see any one of them leaving now that the soul of the show has been ripped out.

Martha Byrne held that show together. She was the gravitational pull in a world full of disaster. Without her, the world is sure to fall.

Edited March 1, 200817 yr by Actor87

Tom Casiello, a former writer at ATWT, had this to say in his blog on Myspace....

To a Lily and a Rose...

Current mood: crushed

So you folks know how this works. I don't know what goes on behind closed doors any more than you do. And I don't comment on rumors. But I woke up this morning (after already posting one new blog last night) to this:

[He inserts a link to the aritcle about MB's leaving here, but the link is broken.]

I had the utmost pleasure of working with Martha Byrne for almost four years, and got to write for both characters she played on ATWT.

She is leaving a void in Oakdale far FAR greater than Lily Walsh Snyder Grimaldi Snyder... Snyder... Snyder? (I lost track... but don't we all?)

Martha is the heart and soul of that show, far beyond anything you see on screen. She knows every cameraman, every prop guy, every production coordinator and every employee in that studio.

She brought all of these people together over and over again, connected us and made us all feel like part of a much bigger family.

Martha is fun-loving, sweet, supportive, wise-cracking and beloved by everyone I ever worked with when I was there. She was all the best parts of Lily without the angst, and all the best parts of Rose without the trash.

And in case I haven't made it clear, the facts can speak for themselves: every year, Martha united all of daytime in the St. Jude's Children's Hospital Daytime Event. Each autumn, all the shows would unite with their fans to drink, laugh, party, and for an incredible cause. That was Martha's baby, and we are all truly grateful for not only what she did for us, but for sick kids everywhere.

I don't know what happened during negotiations, and I don't really care. I will tell you this: Martha, my dear - you are a legend. And you will be sorely missed in Oakdale. This is an exit that will be felt far deeper when the cameras turn off, than when they're on - and that's really saying something. You were always a constant, and a shining example of the way soaps used to be (and should still be), and I hope that when Lily takes her last step out of Oakdale and you take your last step out of Midwood, that it isn't long before we see you back on our screens again.

Don't stay away too long. Please.

Love, Tom

Casiello and others have it right. She is the axis on which so much about the show, from the large female demographic of the audience to the sense of family to the behind the scenes relationships with the crew, is supported and "turns". Without her it will crumble - it's barely held together as is now, since every single storyline is horrible.

Edited March 1, 200817 yr by Vee

Beautiful posts, Dusty and Vee!! And I loved what Tom had to say about Martha.

Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen: the WORLD is about to come to an end.

Love what Tom had to say. I've never had the pleasure of meeting Martha, but I hope I get the chance someday

Great Post.

Tom is a good guy.

I hope ATWT pays for letting Martha go!

Wow. Good job, ATWT. You almost have to wonder if Jon Hensley elects to leave later this year. Either way, there goes a good chunk of your audience.

As much as I respected Goutman for the job he did on AW and his first few years at ATWT, it's time for a change.

Oh dear

What a deathblow to this show. Carjack fans and Nuke fans are the only ones they'll have left. Kudos to Martha standing up though and not taking any crap from the execs.

I hope she lands on another soap.

It's a shame an actress of MB's caliber was treated that way. Good for her for leaving.

Not sure how long Nuke fans will hang on with the no kissing and their new BS storyline?