It’s probably not surprising that the awards handed out to honor those who labor in the soap opera world tend to create a little drama each year. As we’re not exactly experts in the field, we turned to the only person we know who gets paid to watch – and report on – all of the daytime dramas, Soaps In Depth executive editor Richard M. Simms, who started things off by declaring, “Stacy Haiduk was totally robbed!”
For those not in the know (like, say, us), Haiduk plays current In Depth cover girls Patty and Emily. That’s right, she plays twins. Kind of. “Patty had herself surgically altered to look like Emily,” explains the editor. “This story could have been a complete disaster, but what really made it work was Haiduk’s amazing work. She made crazy cool again.”
Another shocker? “Somehow, ALL MY CHILDREN’s writing team got a nod despite the work of Chuck Pratt – who was eventually ousted in favor of new writers whose work, ironically, officially begins airing today – being decried as crap by pretty much everyone.”
Over at GENERAL HOSPITAL, there was good news – COUGAR TOWN’s Carolyn Hennesy got a nod for her work as Port Charles attorney Diane – and bad. “It’s surprising that Maurice Benard (Sonny), Anthony Geary (Luke) and Laura Wright (Carly) were all snubbed,” says Simms. “Not only are they big names, but they also are pretty much who the show revolves around. Especially in the case of Benard! Love him or hate him, Sonny is that show.”
Asked his personal favorites among the nominees? “If Y&R’s Billy Miller doesn’t win, I’ll never watch soaps again,” the editor says. “Okay, that’s totally not true, but man, that guy could read the phone book and fans would tune in. He’s a huge star. I’d also love to see DAYS OF OUR LIVES’ Molly Burnett get a trophy. She’s an incredibly fascinating actress to watch. She’s quirky, and you never know what she’s going to do next. But Supporting Actress is a tough call since she’s up against Julie Marie Berman (Lulu, GH), and she is one of the best in the biz. All three of them – Berman, Burnett and Miller – are the kind of actors who you almost hate to fall in love with if only because you know that sooner or later, someone’s gonna come along and steal them away from daytime. You want them to be wildly successful, but at the same time, you know it’ll mean giving up your daily visits with them.” 
