Soap Hub Performer Of The Week For B&B: Ken Hanes

Sheila Carter was facing jail time for taking off from prison until her pal Mike Guthrie took the rap for her ‘escape’ on Bold and the Beautiful. Soap Hub is bestowing Performer of the Week honors for B&B on Mike’s portrayer, Ken Hanes, for reprising his role as Sheila’s savior.

Ken Hanes – Performer of the Week

Veteran B&B fans recall that Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) became pals with Mike (Ken Hanes) 30 years ago when he was a guard at Forrester Creations and she was Mrs. Eric Forrester. The two have shared a complicated relationship over the years as power dynamics between the two have shifted. Overall, Mike’s been deeply loyal to Sheila so when the opportunity came along for him to take the rap for her escaping from lockup, he made the bittersweet decision to say yes.

Hanes hasn’t been on B&B on a regular basis in a while so it’s a testament to his ability as an actor that he can so easily slip back into his character. “You’re sailing off into the sunset and I’m stuck in this place,” Mike remarked to Sheila when the two met for what might be for the last time in a while in a visiting area of the jail. While Mike was understandably miffed, he also couldn’t hold back his admiration for the crafty ex-con. Sheila downplayed getting Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) on her side (why let Mike think there’s another man in her life?) but Mike knew better.

He asked Sheila to at least try to visit him every now and then but Sheila, who can be more honest around Mike than she is with others, let him know with her body language that wasn’t going to be happening. After Mike opened his heart up to Sheila and told her how much it’d mean to him, she said she’d try. “I never stopped having feelings for you, Sheila,” Mike said as he looked longingly into the naughty nurse’s eyes.

It may be unclear (for now) as to why Bill has become Sheila’s guardian but Mike’s motivation is clear. He loves her and always has. Rather than give Mike a kiss, as he desperately wanted, Sheila slapped him across the face, calling him a bad boy. Viewers who have seen these two spar and conspire over the years would have expected nothing less.

B&B treated viewers to a flashback retrospect of Mike (Ken Hanes) and Sheila’s long history. We saw, among other moments, Mike spinning the carousel that contained the blood samples for Bridget’s paternity tests, Sheila releasing the Doberman on Mike to keep him in line, and her giving in to his demand that they kiss.

This time, it’s Mike’s turn to pay. Perhaps, we’ll see Ken Hanes on B&B again if fate turns against Sheila. In the meantime, kudos to the actor for reprising his role and reminding us just how influential Sheila can be!

The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.