Noelle Beck Is The New Lily Snyder on ATWT

Emmy-nominated Noelle Beck, best known to daytime audiences as Trisha Alden McKenzie on LOVING, has been cast as Martha Byrne's replacement on AS THE WORLD TURNS.

Byrne, who taped her last scenes as Lily Walsh Snyder on March 14, chose to leave the show after Procter & Gamble would not meet her contract demands. She talked about the reason she left in a chat with fans two days later: "I made a request to work at least the same number of shows that I was in last year and was told NO. That day is when the recast call went out."

Beck, who was recently seen in an episode of CASHMERE MAFIA, returns to daytime for the first time since 1995. Soap Opera Digest interviewed her a few years ago and asked about a return to soaps: "I think I would if the right role came along. It's a wonderful job for a working mother. In my career, it's hard to find a job that lasts for more than three or four months. Or if you're lucky enough to get a nighttime series, which I've been, they haven't lasted. So you get all excited, and make the move with your family, then you're at the mercy of the networks. The soaps tend to stay around longer than a lot of the nighttime series anyway."

Beck and Susan Haskell were the most rumored actresses to land the role fo ATWT's central heroine. Due to the fact that this will be a difficult situation for any actress, to replace a long time fan favorite, Beck is about as good a choice as ATWT could have made. No first airdate has been announced.

News Brief

New York Daily News: Ryan Lavery is dancing with the scars on "All My Children." When we left our heroFriday on "All My Children," he had lunged in front of Kendall to protect her from being shot. The action picks up Monday with a bullet to the head for his trouble. "Yes, Ryan's been shot again - for the third time," says Cameron Mathison, who plays Ryan. "If you think about it, it's only been women that have shot him. Kendall shot him by accident because it was supposed to be blanks, but Jonathan switched the bullets. And Annie thought he was her ex-husband. "This time, it's a woman, too: Zach's ex, Hannah, who goes after Kendall.

Tulsa World: Corbin Bernsen is a bit of a Renaissance man. He became a star overnight as unscrupulous attorney Arnie Becker on “L.A. Law” in the 1980s, he’s written and directed feature films (“Carpool Guy”), he participated in the reality show “Celebrity Mole,” and he landed a part on the quirky, critically acclaimed cable series “Psych.” He’s also starred on soaps, even after he became a household name, most notably as Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) nemesis, FBI agent John Durant on “General Hospital.” Now he’s trying his hand as ... game-show host? Bernsen will oversee the new Game Show Network program “How Much Is Enough?” produced by BBC Worldwide America (“Dancing With the Stars”). The premise is simple: Contestants will try to guess just how greedy their fellow competitors are while they themselves try to be a little less greedy in order to win all the cash. “How Much Is Enough?” premieres Tuesday, and will air Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. on the Game Show Network.

National Ledger: Explaining the Writer's Strike. Striking up the band has become a big worry for all areas of television. The major issue is how writers get paid when shows that they've written are broadcast on the Internet. Currently, writers are not paid when their work is used on the Internet or sold on an online service such as Apple's iTunes. Soaps typically film episodes about a month in advance of their airdates. Scripts are also written well in advance in order to keep up with the rigors of having to put out a new show five times each week. Primetime shows may only put out 23 episodes each season. This schedule has allowed many soaps to stockpile enough scripts to last through the end of the year. The new year has come and gone and the soaps are still running. In fact, "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital" have been great. Several soap opera writers have informed the WGA that they plan to go back to work on their shows, perhaps in an attempt to save their jobs. These writers will take what is called "financial core," a move that gives up their full membership in the guild and withholds the union dues spent on political activities in order to continue writing during the strike.

Daily Telegraph: Y&R's Tammin Sursok brings new man to Oz. AFTER a year away from home, former "Home and Away" hottie Tammin Sursok has spent the past fortnight in Oz introducing her new man to her family and re-energising for what is set to be a massive 2008. The one-time Summer Bay local has two films coming out mid-year: the horror flick Albino Farm and the drama Crossing Over, which also stars Harrison Ford and Sean Penn. She jets out to the US on Tuesday to resume work on "The Young and the Restless" and has another film project in the pipeline - but can't reveal too much until she has signed on the dotted line.

Sydney Morning Herald: Xen braves paparazzi and buzzing helicopters to get the rich and famous to the church on time. "When I started out, I was a wardrobe designer and costume designer. One of the first weddings I was involved with was Dannii Minogue and (for "Another World" star) Julian McMahon's, and that was quite by accident."

Orlando Sentinel: 'Cashmere Mafia' more clich� than deluxe. Carrie Bradshaw haunts Cashmere Mafia, a ho-hum knockoff of Sex and the City. Any new retread, however, could look inviting as fresh programming dwindles during the writers' strike. ABC previews Cashmere Mafia at 10 p.m. ET Sunday, then shifts the show to 10 p.m. ET Wednesdays.

VanHansis.net: VIDEO: "As The World Turns" star Van Hansis records a message for his fans.

TV Guide Canada: Nelson Branco's latest "Suds Report."

Louisville Courier-Journal: Since the Writers Guild of America went on strike Nov. 5, poll after poll has shown the average American supports the writers who are at odds with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, primarily over who profits from Internet programming. The strike could cost Los Angeles an estimated $380 million to $2.5 billion in consumer spending, according to the Los Angeles Times. Chris Avery-Dougherty, 27, a hairstylist, recently returned to Kentucky after losing his job working on hair for the cast of "Friday Night Lights" because of the strike.