Stories done to keep an actor from quitting a show

[DRW50]

Over the years, soap stories have been written, or rewritten, to convince an actor to stay on a show. What are some of them?

Didn't Santa Barbara do the Sonny Sprocket story so Lane Davies wouldn't leave?

I think Ryan's Hope did the Delia stock market success and marriage to Roger stories, lighthearted in tone, to get Ilene Kristen to stay another year.

[Darn]

Every story Tony Geary's done the last 5 years? I don't know.

[DRW50]

I can see the Ethan story being like that. Then again I sometimes wonder if they'd be interested in stopping him from leaving.

[y&r_fan]

Pretty much every Victor Newman storyline.

[AdelaideCate007]

In the last years of Another World, didn't they basically cater to Jensen Buchanan's every whim?

[MissLlanviewPA]

Tristan Rogers was going to leave GH in 1991, but Gloria Monty convinced him to stay another year--although he felt the Robert/Anna reunion happened way too fast, and I think he wound up quitting a little earlier than expected when Finola was fired the way she was. I guess Mac's creation was a way to make sure Robin had someone to raise her once TR & FH left? I'm not sure.

[BingCherry]

I remember there was speculation that the Tad/Dixie/Liza triangle development in '95/'96 was done in an effort to keep both MEK and Cady around as both their contracts were up around the same time. MEK stayed but Cady left.

[ghfan89]

Mac was created as means to try to persuade TR into staying on the show.

Also Brenda's breakdown after Sonny left her at the alter was written to keep VM on the show after MB left, but ultimately became too emotionally draining, so they ended the story rather quickly.

[John]

FH was leaving to do Jack's place and only had like two weeks left of filming when Gloria Monty told her that was her last day. Then we got a few weeks of Camilla Moore As Anna. Monty letting FH go early was the last straw for ABC with Monty. Because of that and ratings, ABC fired her & Hired Wendy Riche.

[ellabelle]

I have heard that the whole godawful David/Dixie saga was something Cady wanted, and since she was in contract negotiations, it somehow happened. David was so much better off with Erica, and the idea that he would go from an on-again/off-again thing with La Kane to panting after Dixie freaking Martin was just ridiculous and totally unbelievable.

[DRW50]

Wasn't Dixie/Zach something she asked for as well? I can't remember. Of course that was when she rejoined, not when she left.

Didn't Maurice Benard threaten to quit if they fired Tamara Braun (early on)?

[DavidsMuse]

VI was in contract negotiations in 2000 as well, and David/Dix was why he stayed, instead of rejoining GL!

[wingwalker]

I remember in a interview with Scott Bryce (Craig Montgomery, ATWT) he talked about he was going to leave ATWT, but Doug Marland convinced Scott to stay another year after pitching Scott a story he had planned for him.

[ellabelle]

I don't buy that for a second. In 2000 VI was in a storyline with the Queen of Daytime, and they'd both been told that Erica would be single while dealing with Bianca coming out, and then their characters would get back together. Why would he possibly want to ditch a future storyline with Susan and with Erica's newly outed teenage daughter, given the HUGE publicity the show got for the coming out storyline to have a romance with Dixie Martin/Cady McClain? I also don't buy that he seriously considered going back to GL in 2000.

[Vee]

I believe Cady was interested in working with Thorsten Kaye. I thought that could have worked, but, uh, didn't. I could understand what she wanted for the Dixie character in that run - more edge, more like Rosanna Cabot, which is some of her best work ever - but it was so poorly done.