Two One Life to Live stars are in different phases of contract talks with the network. According to show sources, Trevor St. John (Todd Manning) reached a deal with the show, changed his mind and then reached another deal- but his sometimes on-screen love interest, Renée Elise Goldsberry (Evangeline Williamson) has yet to reach a deal.
"We have ourselves a deal," St. John said in a statement. "I'm pleased to say ABC and I reached an agreement yesterday [April 12th], and I'm just as pleased to get back to the real work at hand: creating stories you like to watch."
St. John's status had been up in the air for some time. In the past week separate news reports have offered varying accounts of the actor's future with the show. In one story, a report stated that St. John had refused the network's "last best" offer and his on-screen alter ego was going to be written off the show indefinitely. The apparent distance between both sides led to Internet postings claiming that St. John had referred to show brass as "idiots" at a recent fan event.
As reported previously by Soap Central, St. John and One Life to Live honchos had apparently come to terms on a new deal earlier in the month. St. John reportedly played hardball, making numerous requests that are considered quite demanding in the current climate of daytime television. The show ceded to the actor's wishes, but then the New York Daily News reports that St. John upped the ante and asked for even more.
ABC refused to meet his second wave of demands.
Soap Opera Weekly reported that St. John's refusal had something to do with the contract impasse between Goldsberry and ABC, a charge St. John flatly denies.
"The truth of the matter is, mine is a businesslike contract negotiation conducted in a professional manner — on all sides — and I would never interfere in Renee's business," St. John stated.
The two sides went back to talking and now a deal has again been reached.
St. John's status with One Life to Live was somewhat complicated by the apparent soon-to-be-available status of Roger Howarth (ex-Todd Manning; Paul Ryan, As the World Turns). Howarth and executives of the CBS soap are in a contract stalemate and there has been widespread speculation that ABC might be willing to pull out all the stops to lure the actor back to One Life to Live. Even a St. John re-signing, however, does not put the kibosh on a possible Howarth return. Whispers have been making the rounds that ABC might want Howarth for a role other than Todd.
A spokesperson for As the World Turns declined to comment on Howarth's status with the show, stating that "it is not show policy to discuss contracts."
St. John joined One Life to Live in May 2003 as Walker "Flynn" Laurence. It was revealed later that year that Walker was actually Todd Manning.
In more good news for St. John, he and wife, Sara, welcomed the birth of their first child on March 21st. Son Aidan Lee measured in at 7 pounds, 5.2 ounces. The newborn is "happy and healthy as is his mother," St. John said in a statement.
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