Jen Lilley’s Theresa may be gone from Salem and Days of Our Lives, but the actress is not gone from our TV screens. Lilley stars in A Dash of Love, a Hallmark Channel original movie set to air on Sat., February 11 at 9 p.m.
Lilley, who recently earned a pre-Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Lead Actress category for her dynamic work as DAYS’ Theresa, plays Nikki Turner, an aspiring chef who lands a job at a restaurant owned by her idol Holly Hanson (Perry Gilpin of Frasier fame). After a rocky start, Nikki befriends the establishment’s handsome executive chef, Paul Dellucci (played by Brandon Penny) but her joy is short-lived when she discovers her idol is stealing her recipes!
Soap Hub caught up with the actress to get the scoop on her newest project — and to find out how she feels about leaving Theresa behind!
How is Nikki different from Theresa?
Nikki Turner and Theresa Donovan could not be more polar opposites! The only thing that they have in common is that they have spirit and spunk!
How did you come to this project…a regular audition?
No, Hallmark called me! They said they’ve been watching my career and following me on social media. When they saw articles that I’d left Days, they were like, “Great! You’re available!” When I found out they were shooting this project in Vancouver, I [got even more excited]! Vancouver is my dream city!
Your exit from Days was heart-breaking. I had trouble believing that both Shane and Victor couldn’t deal with the mob guy Theresa went off with, but the scene where Theresa told her mom that she had done something similar when Kim slept with Victor to save Shane was fantastic. Theresa came on as selfish, but left selfless.
Yes. I thought the writers did a really good job of making Theresa a fully developed character. I was sad I was leaving…And now I have this movie, A Dash of Love.
What else is coming up?
Another movie I did called The Wedding Do Over is coming out in June because that’s a big wedding month. It’s for Pixl. And I have another one called Galielo which I did for (director) Jay Silverman. I’m not sure when that’s coming out.
Are you in touch with any of the Days gang?
Yes. I’m texting with Billy [Flynn, Chad], Eric [Martsolf, Brady] and Casey Moss [JJ]. They’re all so great. I’m also in touch with Tamara Braun [ex-Ava] and Deidre [Hall, Marlena]. I try to stay in touch and drop by the set when I can.
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