Damsel and diva, sinner and saint. Martha Madison has run the gamut during her tenure at DAYS. For her fiery reaction to learning that her most hated rival might soon make her a stepmother, Madison has earned herself Soap Hub’s Performer of the Week honors.
Martha Madison – Performer of the Week
When Madison’s Belle Brady initially faced off with Jan Spears (Heather Lindell) she was a combustible combination of dismissive and irritable. First off, she wasn’t pleased at being summoned to Statesville under false pretenses. Second, she wasn’t at all interested in playing twenty questions with the prisoner. She also wasn’t that bothered to learn who knocked Jan up…but when Jan insisted that her tots pop was Shawn Brady, Madison allowed shock, disgust, and indignation to wash over character.
“You think Shawn, my Shawn, is the father of your baby,” Belle both asked and accused – her words punctuated by Madison practically slamming her handbag down on the table before her. “Prison has really caused you to have some kind of mental break…again!”
But, Jan persisted. She was with child and said child had been sired by Shawn. On Christmas Eve, the two of them had, “jingled all the way.”
Madison registered Belle’s shock and disgust with busy hands. They waved off Jan’s claim, they covered her agape mouth, she used them to clutch her breaking heart. For a minute, Belle was stunned. But when Jan dared to say that what she and Shawn shared was a “love story”, Madison whipped herself around with a shocking quickness and spitefully spit out, “Shawn never loved you!”
Furthermore, “Even if this true…he is not only not going to want to raise [the baby] with you, he is going to be horrified, disgusted! He thinks you’re evil and crazy just like every other person who’s had the misfortune of crossing paths with you!”
Belle may be living a waking nightmare, but actress Martha Madison is living every actor’s dream – she’s got a plethora of meaty, front-burner material. This storyline is going to be the gift that keeps on giving.
Honorable Mention: Leann Hunley
While Madison brought the pathos, her co-star brought the funny. Nothing, save for Madison’s aforementioned tour de force, beats Leann lounging dejectedly upon her four-poster like some Southern Belle of old, bemoaning her current predicament. This we could watch for hours on end.
Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Salem, check out all the latest that’s been posted on DAYS spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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