THE SCOOP

A family tragedy will force Jack and Jennifer back to Salem next week, and with that fans can look forward to the returns of Matthew Ashford and Cady McClain in the roles beginning Tuesday, June 14, Soap Opera Network can confirm. Ashford last appeared as Jack on the daytime soap in May alongside Melissa Reeves who has played the role of Jennifer off and on since 1985. 

Due to a scheduling conflict, McClain will take over this time for the upcoming story arc which finds Salem mourning a beloved individual. McClain won a Daytime Emmy in 2021 for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series for her portrayal. She previously portrayed the role of Jennifer on “Days of our Lives” from September 2020 to March 2021 when the character appeared for a brief telephone call from Boston after departing Salem in February 2021 following the death of the character’s mother, Laura Horton. Reeves reprised the role in December 2021 and has appeared sporadically until May 2022.

No stranger to daytime soaps, McClain had roles on “All My Children,” “As The World Turns” and “The Young and the Restless.” She also appeared in episodes of “St. Elsewhere,” “Cheers,” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” In real-life, she’s married to “General Hospital” star Jon Lindstrom. The two married on Valentine’s Day 2014.

With her Daytime Emmy win for her work on “DAYS,” McClain set a record by becoming the first female performer to receive the coveted trophy for three different shows, spanning three decades and three different networks. In 1990 she won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Juvenile Female in a Drama Series (the category was later renamed Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series) for her portrayal of Dixie Cooney on “All My Children” (ABC) and won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2004 for her work as Rosanna Cabot on “As The World Turns” (CBS). She won the aforementioned Emmy for “DAYS” which airs on NBC.