News Brief

The quite real Restless Style for women
Life doesn’t often imitate art when it comes to the daytime soaps, unless you have an evil twin who’s a closet serial killer. But in the case of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS art is very much imitating life these days.

Last month the CBS soap debuted an online fashion and lifestyle magazine, RestlessStyle.com, to tie in with the launch of a similarly named print magazine on the TV show. While the print publication is fake, the online one is very real. It includes beauty tips, of course, but also red carpet event coverage, videos, horoscopes and playlist downloads.

Web tie-ins are becoming almost a necessity to maintain the attention of an audience, younger women, whose favorite primetime shows all have an extensive internet presence.

CBS has INTURN, an online-only reality show that offers the winner a role on AS THE WORLD TURNS. AMC has web extras like a couple’s wedding video and wedding album. DAYS OF OUR LIVES has a blog by the show’s writers.

Nelson Branco's Daytime Emmy Predictions
Nelson writes: "Who will win the coveted Emmy statuette on June 20? Your guess is as good as mine, because insanity is impossible to analyze or predict!" EDITOR'S NOTE: Check back next week for our summary grid of all the expert's picks.

HOLLYOAKS actors return for wedding
HOLLYOAKS fans will be pleased to see some familiar faces returning to the Chester-based soap in the coming weeks. Long-time stars Sarah Dunn and Darren Jeffries return for the on-off marriage of Steph and Max.

Jeffries played OB for 10 years, and only quit the teen soap in February, when his character followed girlfriend Summer to London. Dunn left for pastures new in 2006 after playing blonde bombshell Mandy Richardson for more than a decade. Mandy fled when her marriage to Tony (Nick Pickard) broke down following their daughter Grace's death.

BLOG UPDATE: Lynn Liccardo
"Based on the handful of OLTL episodes I’ve seen this week, I do have a suggestion for the incoming GL writing team – and ATWT’s as well: longer scenes, long enough to let the emotions resonate with viewers. On yeah, one more thing for GL: maybe with FOUR headwriters, there will be enough manpower to write full episodes, instead of the half-assed music interludes that tell us nothing about character and do nothing to advance the story. Of course, since GL has no real story."

Amanda Seyfried 'embarrassed' by her stint on ATWT
"At times Amanda seems excessively self-critical – as borne out by the comments she makes about her first acting role, in the daytime soap AS THE WORLD TURNS [as Holden and Molly's daughter, Abigail]. Though most 15-year-olds would have been delighted to win a role on a widely watched soap opera, Amanda admits that she was in tears at her performance, 'because I knew it sucked. I was so embarrassed that I’d be on air and be a failure.' She remained on the show for 27 episodes, and then stopped: after that faltering start (and shaken by the events of 9/11), it took her another 18 months to return to acting [as Joni on ALL MY CHILDREN]."

Mark Sullivan returns to ATWT as Reg
Mark Sullivan returns to AS THE WORLD TURNS next week as Luke's friend, Reg Addington, President of Oakdale U's GLBT group. Reg shows an interest in the now-single Luke, much to Noah's chagrin. Sullivan previously appeared on the show back in February when his character invited Luke and Noah to a wild party at Tony's parent's lake house.

AUDIO: The Rwandan ARCHERS
Picture yourself in rolling farmland, the hubbub of village gossip mingling with the bleating of lambs. Now imagine that instead of rainclouds over fields of wheat, a bright African sun blazes over sweet potato and cassava plants. And on top of discussing the latest harvest, the villagers also describe the best way to fit a condom.

Welcome to the African Ambridge. URUNANA, the ARCHER's style radio drama from Rwanda, is hotly tipped to win the One World Special Achievement Award for Development Media on 12 June.

Ten million Rwandans tune in to the latest instalment from the fictional village of Nyarurembo twice a week. The soap is complete with its own loveable rogue, love affairs and agricultural anecdotes.