Kristian Alfonso and Peter Reckell. WireImage/Getty Images
Mark your calendars because Days of Ours Lives stars Kristian Alfonso and Peter Reckell are reuniting as Hope and Bo Brady for multiple episodes next year.
The actors, who last appeared on screen together in April 2023, will reconnect for a “special story arc” airing in May 2025, TVInsider reported on Thursday, September 12.
“There is a saying I love: ‘Life takes you to unexpected places but love always brings you home,’” Alfonso, 61, told the outlet, reflecting on her return to Days. “Anyone who knows me knows how grateful I am to have all of you supporting me and welcoming me back when I’m back in Salem.”
The actress, who has been playing Hope on and off since 1983, teased, “These episodes with Pete will not disappoint.”
Many celebrities have soap operas to thank for launching their careers. Before becoming an Oscar winner, Julianne Moore got her start on As the World Turns in 1988. She portrayed sisters Frannie Hughes and Sabrina Hughes, which scored her a Daytime Emmy in 1988. Moore eventually exited the series to kickstart her film career. Like […]
Reckell, 69, is equally as excited to be working alongside Alfonso again, telling TVInsider it’s “just like riding a bike.” He joked, “And thank goodness they keep one at the ready for me in Salem.”
Reckell assured viewers that Bo and Hope’s story line should not be missed. “This ride is one we know the fans are really going to love. Stay tuned!” he added.
Days of Our Lives introduced fans to Hope Williams (who later became Hope Brady) in 1983. That same year, Bo Brady was also brought onto the show. The characters have since been featured in more than 3000 — Reckell has starred on 3521 and Alfonso on 4312.
When soap opera stars leave their roles, it can be as shocking as their shows’ plotlines. Alison Sweeney surprised longtime Days of Our Lives fans in 2014 when she announced she’d be exiting the series after 21 years. “I’ve been on Days of Our Lives since I was 16 years old, and I have never […]
Much to the dismay of viewers, Bo was killed off in 2015 after being held captive for several years and kept from Hope. When he was reunited with his wife they’re bliss was short-lived as he later died from a brain hemorrhage, although he did pop up in two 2016 episodes.
Alfonso, meanwhile, remained on the soap opera as Hope until 2020 when she announced her departure. “I’ve been there for an incredibly long time and am hugely grateful that I was able to be a part of the Days of Our Lives family for as long as I was,” she told Soap Opera Digest in July 2020 of her decision to leave. “But in the last few years, Days of Our Lives is not the Days of Our Lives as I know it.”
That same month, Alfonso vowed that she didn’t “plan on returning and popping in as others have done in the past.” She told Entertainment Tonight, “I think that chapter is closed, and a new one needs to be started.”
Luckily for fans of the show, two years later, both Alfonso and Reckell revived their characters on Peacock’s spinoff, Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem, for a five-episode arc. On the spinoff, it was revealed that Bo was not dead but being held in a cryogenic chamber.
In March 2023, Alfonso brought Hope back to Days of Our Lives for the first time since her 2020 exit. The episode ended in heartbreak after Bo was shot by his son Shawn (Brandon Beemer) and left in a coma.
Hope, however, has since returned to Salem (in April) to attend the funeral of her ex Doug Williams — played by the late Bill Hayes, who died in January at the age of 98. Bo didn’t wake up from his sleep for the special episode, leaving fans to wonder how and why he might wake up now.
This time around, Hope and Bo are teaming up for the soap opera’s 60th season, which marks its anniversary on November 8. According to TVInsider, Alfonso and Reckell won’t be the only surprise returns over the next few months.
Alison Sweeney confirmed last month that she will be back as Sami Brady for a few episodes in 2025.
Days of Our Lives airs weekdays on Peacock.
