Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso talk with Soap Hub about this classic moment.
Today, Bo and Hope fans are watching Days of our Lives on Peacock waiting for the couple to reunite. In 1984, fans also waited for the two to reconnect. We invited Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso to chat about Bo stopping Hope’s wedding for Soap Hub’s Flashback Friday.
Nearly 40 years ago, Bo broke things off with Hope so that he could help his brother Roman. Ambitious district attorney Larry Welch (Andrew Masset) thought having Hope as a bride would help him get to the governor’s mansion so he proposed to her. Dressed in her wedding gown, a sad Hope blubbered in front of a mirror “Hope Williams Welch…Mrs. Larry Welch.” She lamented that those particular monikers were in her future as all she really wanted to be was “Mrs. Bo Brady.”
As Hope tearfully prepared herself to walk down the aisle, Bo burst into the bride’s room at the chapel and declared his love for her. “I’m here to take the woman I love,” Bo told Hope. “My woman.”
Next, Bo and Hope proceeded to do one of the things they did best back then — bicker. Hope used Larry’s feelings for her as a shield to protect herself from what she feared were more empty words from Bo. Then, Alice (Frances Reid) entered and broke into a smile. A scheme was quickly executed to keep Larry busy while Bo and Hope got time to talk further.
The “bride” walked down the aisle; Larry professed his love to Hope at the altar. He lifted the veil only to find Bo’s pal Howie Hofstetter (Stanley Brock) dressed as the bride! Where did Howie get a bride’s gown, pearls, and a dark wig so quickly? Who cares! Bo and Hope had gotten away. Cut to a location scene of them riding off on a “borrowed” policeman’s motorcycle as a current pop hit played over their bickering.
“There was that amazing fun song, Holding Out for a Hero [by Bonnie Tyler],” Kristian Alfonso recalls. “That music! Bo was the ultimate hero. Hope was crying, heartbroken [asking herself], ‘What am I doing marrying this criminal?’ She was doing it to protect Bo and because she thought Bo didn’t love her anymore.”
Alfonso recalls riding on the back of the bike. “I had no helmet on, and Pete’s in a leather vest, and I’m holding on for dear life hoping that we make it to Griffith Park,” the actress recalls of the outdoor shoot and next location where Bo and Hope hashed things out more fully. (Check out the tweet below from Bo and Hope devotee @Evangelia1111 to see highlights from Bo and Hope’s big reunion.)
“Yeah, that was the ultimate of daytime TV,” Reckell says of the story that led to that moment. “I give kudos to the writers and producers at the time for putting all that together.” Now, Reckell and Alfonso are ready to make new memories as they’re both back at DAYS.
“I gotta tell you from starting last spring to when I did that one day with Victoria [Konefal, Ciara] to Days of our Lives: Beyond Salem 2 where Bo was in heaven, the response from the fans has been great,” Reckell says. “I don’t know how many times I’ve said to my wife [Kelly], ‘Why is this happening?’ The impact that Bo and Hope had 40, 30, 20 years ago is still there. I’m floored.”
Reckell says he began to feel the full impact of Bo and Hope and the place they held in the hearts of fans later in 1984 when the show went to shoot more of Bo and Hope’s romance in New Orleans. “Our audience is way different from other audiences,” he says. “They’re so passionate and vocal.”
Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso appreciate fierce fan support but would like to gently caution them to treat one other well. “We’ve got to remind them to be respectful of each other,” he says. “Kindness, kindness, kindness,” encourages Alfonso. “It feels better.”
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