Days of our Lives Comings & Goings: Kristian Alfonso Returns Without Bo

Kristian Alfonso is returning to Days of our Lives to play Hope once again. The actress is sharing some of the feelings she’s experiencing about this mixed emotional return that ties into the real-life upcoming memorial for Doug Williams, played by the late, great Bill Hayes, later this year.

Hope For The Future

TV Insider broke the news that Kristian Alfonso reported back for work on Monday, April 22 to shoot scenes as part of the show’s tribute to Bill Hayes, Hope’s dad, Doug Williams.

“My return is very bittersweet, because it is the end of an era with Bill gone,” shared Alfonso. “So, to return to DAYS is very sad. I am appreciative that they came to me to include me in their series of shows honoring Doug and I’m very happy to see everyone, but I’m entering the studio with a heavy heart.

“I remember my first scenes with [Bill],” the actress recalls from her 1983 debut as Doug’s darling daughter, Hope. “He was very loving, very welcoming. That he was very talented and an incredible actor and an icon, that all goes without saying, but my personal relationship and my working relationship with Bill, it was home. Doing the scenes with Bill, I felt like I was with my dad because there was so much warmth and reality.”

Sadly, Alfonso and Hayes didn’t get to share screentime together during her last visit to the show. “I’m sad that I did not get the opportunity to do the storyline that Ron [Carlivati, head writer] had planned,” she shares. “It was great; we returned to Salem to reunite with our families, and I would have had father/daughter scenes with Billy. What Ron had written was beautiful and emotional and it was a fantastic story. I was 100 percent for it and the fans would have loved it.”

This time around, the actress will get to work with Melissa Reeves, Hope’s cousin Jennifer. “It’s been years!” Alfonso enthused. “I’m so excited to see her, to work with her, to giggle with her, to eat delicious food with her, to talk about our families. Just to catch up. It doesn’t matter how much time passes. We always just pick up right where we left off.”

No word on if Peter Reckell will be back as Bo. However, Alfonso is aware that there’s great support for the legendary duo. “What I will say is don’t give up hope,” the actress punned.