Soap Hub Performer of the Week for The Bold and the Beautiful: Annika Noelle

As difficult as it was for Liam to come clean with Deputy Chief Baker on The Bold and the Beautiful that he’d killed poor Vinny, it was equally hard for Hope, his wife, to stand by and watch the man she loves to face a hefty prison sentence. For her portrayal of a strong-willed woman who is standing by — and standing up for — her man, Soap Hub bestows Performer of the Week for BB honors on Hope’s portrayer Annika Noelle.

Annika Noelle — Performer of the Week

Maybe Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) would have urged Liam (Scott Clifton) to stay quiet about hitting Vinny (Joe LoCicero) with his dad Bill’s (Don Diamont) car that fateful night, but Hope leaned into Liam doing the right thing so that he could live with himself.

Still, Hope herself thought Liam had changed his mind when he agreed to leave the police station without confessing unaware it was just a ruse on Liam’s part to get Bill to vacate the premises.

Noelle made the choice to play Hope more than a little bit relieved by Liam’s move, but she didn’t encourage him to walk out when Liam said he was going to go ahead and confess to what he’d done.

The actress reminded viewers just how strong and noble Hope is as she sat next to Liam in the interrogation room while Baker (Dan Martin) grilled Liam as to what happened the night Vinny died. Supportive, understanding, and passionate are just a few of the adjectives that would describe Hope as she stood by Liam.

We imagine that if Hope were to sit in court behind her husband wearing a simple beige or white suit delivering longing looks of support and love, the jury will have no choice but to find Liam innocent if he goes on trial.

Bill, however, had better not count on calling Hope as a character witness if he’s brought before a judge. After Liam was incarcerated, Hope went to Bill and kicked into high gear, blasting the media mogul for causing this whole mess.

Bill maintained that if Liam had kept his yap closed the memory of what had occurred the night Vinny died would have faded. “If you believe that then you don’t know your son at all,” Hope said in response. “The only way Liam felt that he could make peace with it was to own up for what he did!”

When Bill asked Hope how she could have let Liam confess, she turned the tables on her father-in-law. “What about you?” she asked. “You’re the one who committed the real crime here. You orchestrated the entire cover-up. That is on you, Bill! Liam is behind bars because of what you did!”

Later, Noelle got to soften her character and let Hope’s guard down when she brought her mother Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) in on what’s transpired. Hope has a long road ahead of her as Liam fights for his freedom and she prepares to possibly raise their daughter Beth alone.

We’ve no doubt that not only will Hope prevail but that Noelle will rise to any story twist BB asks her to play based on these powerful performances. The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.