In a post that may come as quite a shock to fans, Ingo Rademacher reveals that he has chosen not to renew his contract as The Bold and the Beautiful's Thorne Forrester.
Prompted by rumors that he has already exited the CBS series, the daytime veteran took to Instagram to set the record straight: yes, he is leaving, but he still has some scenes to tape before his B&B exit is final.
"It is true what you are hearing," Rademacher reveals in the post. "I have decided to not continue with my contract on The Bold and The Beautiful and I'll be finishing up my last episodes in January. I want to thank Brad Bell (we've been communicating,) the entire show and cast (truly awesome people), and also CBS for a fun year of playing Thorne."
Rademacher took on the role of Thorne Forrester in 2017 in what many fans felt was a controversial casting decision. The character had been played by Winsor Harmon since 1996, and executive producer Bradley Bell's decision to recast Ridge and Rick's brother -- who had rarely been seen on-screen in the years leading up to Rademacher's addition to the cast -- came as a shock to both viewers and Harmon himself.
After Harmon tweeted his disappointment about being suddenly and inexplicably recast, Rademacher expressed that he felt bad about how the casting switch went down.
"[Winsor] tweeted over this past weekend that his role was being recast and I read the comments and a lot of people weren't happy," Rademacher wrote at the time. "There was a lot of support for Winsor, and rightly so. I said to my wife, 'Wow, I feel kind of bad about this.' I mean, I know it's the way things go in daytime, but this is a new experience for me. I've never stepped into a role that was previously played by someone else. I hope the fans aren't too upset about this."
The choppy waters eventually smoothed, and most B&B fans began to accept and appreciate Rademacher's take on the character of Thorne. However, some fans are hoping that the actor's decision not to renew his contract means that Harmon may be able to step back into the role he originated over two decades ago.
A rep for B&B was unavailable for comment on the show's future plans for the character of Thorne, but Rademacher says there is a possibility that he will reprise the role in the future.
"We are parting on good terms and with the possibility of a return," he shares. "We shall see what the new year brings."
Rademacher, who's also known to soap opera fans as General Hospital's Jasper "Jax" Jacks, will be spending the holidays in his home state of Hawaii and will be returning to Los Angeles in January. As B&B tapes several weeks in advance, viewers can expect his final appearance as Thorne sometime during February Sweeps.
What do you think of Rademacher's decision to leave B&B? Which of the following options would you rather see the soap opera do: recast the character, bring Winsor Harmon back into the role, or have Thorne leave the canvas altogether? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
