While Ashley Jones, who has portrayed Bridget Forrester on “The Bold and the Beautiful” off and on since 2004, was present during last month’s ribbon cutting ceremony for the daytime drama, which formally kicked off the show’s production at its new home at Sunset Las Palmas Studios in Hollywood, after more than 38 years at Television City, she recently revealed in an interview with Soap Opera Network that fans can expect to see more of her on-screen starting next month.
“I’m coming back in October and yeah, you’re going to see me do something I haven’t done before, interact with some people I haven’t worked with before,” Jones said, while out promoting her new Lifetime TV movie, “The Girl Who Survived: The Alina Thompson Story,” which is now available to stream via myLifetime and the Lifetime app.
Although she couldn’t delve into any specific storyline details, Jones was asked her thoughts on any potential storylines Bridget could find herself involved in, particularly as she often works closely at the hospital with Finn (Tanner Novlan).
Taking a moment, Jones shared, “I sound like a broker record saying this. I could throw out so many fun ideas that fans have floated, and when I’m on set, I’m like, ‘Oh, this could be fun. Oh, we have chemistry!’ [However], what it really comes down to is it’s a half-hour show, and it’s hard to have all the characters on at the same time. And I think I can only imagine if I were, which I never will be, because he’s a legend. But if I were trying to do what [executive producer and head writer] Brad Bell‘s done successfully for 30, are we going on the 39th year, almost to 40 years? I think when he gets a spark and he really sees something, he writes it. And I trust his instincts immensely.”
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
“I’ve been grateful that he brings Bridget back on the canvas so often. As he sees fit, I will be there,” continues Jones. “I think it’s an obvious choice for Bridget and Finn to have something, and they work so well. We work so well together, we could figure it out. And it doesn’t always have to be romantic, although I wouldn’t mind that either, because Bridget hasn’t had a romance in quite a while. We wonder, like, ‘What does she do outside the hospital?’ There are a lot of little avenues that she could take. The bottom line is, if they write it, I will be there as long as I’m available.”
In addition to the lot being home to the classics, including “I Love Lucy,” Ryan Murphy Studios is also setting up space at Sunset Last Palmas alongside the long-running soap opera.
“It’s old Hollywood. It’s been around a long time,” says Jones, who remains awe-inspired by the history of the studio lot. “You can see, I’m just naming a couple, there’ve been countless movies shot there, and you’re walking around and you remember, ‘Oh, that movie was there. Oh, that movie.’ And you see the posters of some of the old Hollywood, real Hollywood legends, and it feels like you’re part of the game still.”
As for her Lifetime movie, which is based on a true story, “The Girl Who Survived” follows 15-year-old Alina Thompson (Brielle Robillard), an aspiring model in Los Angeles during the 1980s, who gets caught in the dangerous web of a serial killer.
Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for A+E Global Media
Without the knowledge of her parents, Carl (Sam Trammell; “True Blood”) and Nancy (Jones), Alina sneaks off to attend an amateur photo casting call where she meets up-and-coming photographer William Bradford (Steve Byers). Unbeknownst to Alina, William is a serial killer hiding in plain sight, using his charms to lure aspiring young women into secluded photo shoots that end in unspeakable violence. After their meeting, Bradford becomes obsessed with Alina’s beauty and ultimately sets his sights on her as his next target. But thanks to the protective instincts of Carl and a series of fateful twists, Alina manages to survive, where many others did not.
“I think people are going to really love the period piece of it, all the eighties, nostalgia, some of the music, the feeling of what life was like when growing up, whether you’re my age and you were growing up, or you are my parents’ age and you were raising kids, you’ll remember that time,” shares Jones of some of the reasons viewers should take time to watch the movie.
Jones added, “I find it fascinating, and I don’t know if it’s a healthy obsession, but a lot of our culture is a little obsessed with True Crime right now. And a lot of times I’ve noticed the soap opera world and all of our amazing fans from the shows I’ve been on, like ‘Young and the Restless,’ ‘General Hospital,’ and ‘Bold and Beautiful,’ they tend to [support], especially the Lifetime original movies. So they’ve always appreciated them. Before the two I directed did very, very well, and I loved that this community came together to support me, and I’m really grateful. I hope they do it again.”
Watch our full interview with Jones below.
