Benedeti, Melchior latest B&B ousters

Posted Sunday, September 29, 2002 11:00:24 PM
Benedeti, Melchior Latest B&B Ousters

A wave of casting changes at The Bold and the Beautiful reportedly has the entire cast concerned about their respective futures with the soap.

Hot on the heels of the dismissal of Rick Hearst (Whipple Jones), Hunter Tylo (Taylor Forrester) and Courtnee Draper (Erica Lovejoy) comes word that still more stars will be shown the door.

Tracy Melchior (Kristen Forrester) and Paolo Benedeti (Antonio Dominguez) have both been bumped to recurring status after little more than a year with the show. Melchior joined the cast of B&B on June 4, 2001 while Benedeti was added on May 29th.

Benedeti's addition to the cast of The Bold and the Beautiful was part of the show's attempt to reach out the Latino soap viewers. One day prior to Benedeti's first appearance, CBS began simulcasting B&B in Spanish via the SAP feature on most new televisions. Sandra Vidal (Sofia Alonzo), who joined the cast on the same day as Benedeti, was bumped from contract status earlier this year.

Benedeti's character was, in many senses, written into a corner when it was revealed that he was HIV-positive. Following a love story between Benedeti's Tony and Melchior's Kristen, both characters were relegated to the back burner.

A spokesperson for the show would not confirm the status changes of Benedeti and Melchior nor comment on whether or not the two performers would continue to be seen or simply written out.

  THE B&B SHAKEUP
Soap Opera Central has been following the recent casting changes at B&B. Here are links to complete coverage of all the changes.

Aug 19th
Hearst off contract; Kanan rumored out.

Sep 5th
Hunter Tylo released

Sep 16th
Dietz signed as new doctor

Sep 16th
Dietz signed as new doctor

Sep 30th
Draper out as Courtnee

Oct 7th
Benedeti, Melchior bumped

Oct 7th
Davies to join as doctor

Related Information

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