The Bold and The Beautiful has been generating headlines for a while now, thanks to its approach to filming post-coronavirus. The soap became the first network show to return to filming after the movie and TV industry had shuttered production. Now, it's making headlines for a sadder reason – the surprise exit of one of its stars.
As a member of The Bold and The Beautiful cast, Courtney Hope has been one of the actors dealing with the soap’s solution to love scenes in the post-coronavirus era. Well, now, Hope will not have to be kissing latex much longer, as the actress took to Instagram to share news of her sudden departure, writing:
An abrupt ending to a monumental journey. The last three years have been amazing, and though I do not know what the future holds this chapter of Sally has sadly come to an end.
As her post indicates, Courtney Hope joined The Bold and The Beautiful’s sprawling ensemble in the fan-favorite role of Sally Spectra II back in 2017. Fast forward to the present, and Hope has revealed her surprise exit from the soap opera. Hope’s sudden departure comes as Days of Our Lives’ Kristian Alfonso rocked daytime by announcing her decision to leave the NBC soap after 37 years.
Kristian Alfonso’s decision was her own, whereas Courtney Hope’s message seems to indicate that it was not her choice to leave The Bold and The Beautiful. The surprise announcement comes as Hope’s Sally has recently been in a front-burner storyline as Sally deceived those around her by making them believe she was dying. Now, Sally is on her way out. Continuing in her post, Hope wrote:
I love my @boldandbeautifulcbs cast and crew and will miss everyone dearly, but await the day we may all play again. Some things are out of our control, and I thank the fans for your support through it all!
The silver lining to Courtney Hope’s post is that it seems unlikely Sally will exit via death, making a future return possible. However, bringing characters back from the dead has not been an impossible task for The Bold and The Beautiful. Hunter Tylo’s Taylor Hayes made her way back from the grave in a highly publicized storyline that summoned her return in 2005.
The loss of Courtney Hope is undoubtedly huge for longtime fans of The Bold and The Beautiful. At this point, there doesn't appear to be a recast is in the future, meaning Courtney Hope will take Sally with her. Sally II’s entrance onto the soap holds massive sentimental value for fans because she is the grand-niece of her iconic namesake, Sally Spectra I.
Sally Spectra I had been played by fan-favorite Darlene Conley from 1988 until her death in January 2007. In The Bold and The Beautiful’s cut-throat fashion world, Sally I’s Spectra Fashions has been one of the main rivals to Ridge and company’s Forrester Creations. With Sally II gone, fans have lost a considerable on-screen anchor to the Spectra family.
As a result, I don't expect Courtney Hope’s exit from The Bold and The Beautiful to go over well with fans. Time will tell if Hope eventually makes her way back to the soap to reprise the role in the future. Check out Hope’s full post below:
In the meantime, viewers will just have to wait and see how Hope’s Sally is written out of the show.
Stay tuned to see how The Bold and The Beautiful sends Sally off when new episodes air Mondays at 1:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Older episodes of the soap are streaming on Amazon Prime Video for your viewing pleasure. In terms of new content, the sudser will soon be joined by this fall’s premieres.
