While Ashley Jones is no longer a regular on The Bold and the Beautiful, when she does make an appearance, it's always welcome and memorable. In 2023, Bridget returned to the Forrester family fold for her father Eric's grand soiree. When she arrived in L.A., she learned that Eric was actually dying, but she had to keep that knowledge a secret because Eric didn't want his loved ones to know.
That complex and compelling story that led to Bridget being one of the doctors who ultimately saved Eric's life earned Jones a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Performance.
"It was a real nice arc," Jones told Soap Central's Dan J Kroll. "From when Bridget thinks that she's coming home for a fashion show and then it transitions to her father's illness that was a secret and she's not even supposed to know about it. Then that anger and betrayal that she feels like they kept it from her. And then she jumps into doctor mode and, well, the reality of this really serious [situation]. Then she jumps into a different mode. So, it was nice. [Executive Producer and Head Writer] Brad [Bell] really wove in a lot of different levels for me to play in a short period of time."
That story won several cast members Emmy nods, something Jones marvels at now that the nominations have been announced. The half-hour CBS soap garnered twelve nominations in total.
"I think that we have to give a lot of credit to Brad," she said. "He had some amazing storylines last year, and what he did that was so beautiful is he [created] the big storyline that I was involved with and that a lot of other people were involved with. He was able to intertwine multiple generations, the generational story. It was a story about family, a story about work. It was Eric Forrester's storyline toward the end of the year and was quite phenomenal."
The actress is blown away by the amazing company she has in her category and can't wait for the big night on June 7.
"I'm expecting to go and have a really great night, but I'm not really expecting to win," Jones admitted. "Dick Van Dyke, Guy Pearce, Alley Mills, Linden Ashby. This is a really...I mean...I can't believe that my name is in that same paragraph."
Jones learned of her nomination from B&B publicist Eva Basler, but then she was the one who informed another actress in the category that she also earned a nomination. Alley Mills, who recurs as Pam on B&B, was nominated for her work as Heather on General Hospital and won the award in the guest performer category last year. Alley was thrilled but also had some wise words for Jones.
"I called Alley once I found out," Jones explained. "Alley didn't even know yet. So, I was one of the first people to tell Alley that she was nominated, for a different show, not for our show. And she was so cute. She was like, 'You know, this is so fun, Ashley. But it's, it, it means it doesn't mean it means a lot because you're being recognized. But the most important thing is the people that are surrounding you that you have surrounding you in your life.'"
Jones continued, "She brought up that since her husband, her beloved Orson [Bean] has passed away, no one comes up and talks to her about all of his credits or his nominations or his awards. They come up and talk about him as a person and the memories that they had and how much they miss him and the way he made them feel when they watched him.
"And so, she's like, 'Of course, you're young and I want you to have fun, but just know that the important thing is, are the relationships you create.' And she's absolutely right. So, it was a nice little reality check of what's really important in life."
Is it unusual to have a former regular cast member nominated as a guest performer? Would you like to see Bridget back on-screen regularly? 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.
