A familiar face is coming back to Salem… and bringing a new one along with them!
Patrika Darbo is returning to Days of Our Lives as Nancy Wesley the week of October 21, and bringing her daughter Joy along, played by AlexAnn Hopkins, as first reported by Soap Opera Digest.
Darbo first joined the cast of DAYS in 1998, and although she exited the soap in 2005, she has returned for the occasional appearance in the years that followed.
Her most recent visit was in 2022 when Nancy and Craig divorced after he came out as gay.
When she left the canvas that time, though, Nancy was starting a new romance with Mike Horton!
Joy Wesley was born back in 2003 to Craig and Nancy in the hopes that their new baby would prove to be a viable bone marrow donor for her sister Chloe Lane, who was suffering from leukemia at the time.
(She did!) Naturally, Joy is now all grown up and is being played by daytime newcomer Hopkins.
Per her IMDb bio, Hopkins’ interest in acting blossomed when she was just nine years old, and after some film school experience and a couple of summers in New York, moved to Los Angeles to pursue her career.
The actress is already building a solid resume that includes playing Trixie Dean in the CMT series Sun Records and appearances in episodes of shows like The Goldbergs, Chicago P.D., and Criminal Minds, as well as in movies like Murder In-Law and Into the Arms of Danger.
There are currently no details as to how long either actress’ stay in Salem will be. Is Joy back permanently and Nancy just there to usher her onto the canvas?
Or are both permanent additions to the cast? You’ll just have to stay tuned to find out. And who knows — maybe Nadia Bjorlin will one day come back as Chloe!
There is still no word about if or when Nadia Bjorlin might return to Days of Our Lives as Chloe, but at least Patrika Darbo is headed back to Salem the week of October 22 as mom Nancy.
She’s not going to be coming alone, either: Tagging along with her, Soap Opera Digest reports, will be daytime newcomer AlexAnn Hopkins as Chloe’s baby sister Joy, who isn’t exactly a baby anymore.
Back in 2003, you may and/or may not recall, Nancy and her then-husband Craig conceived a baby — hi, Joy! — in hopes of providing leukemia-stricken Chloe with a viable bone-marrow donor.
(Non-spoiler alert: Chloe lived!) The character of Joy has been absent from the canvas since 2005 but is sure to fit right in with Salem’s younger set.
“It says here that we’re getting someone new our age.”
Darbo, who has played Nancy since the late 1990s, joins a slew of other returnees, who’ll be turning up to celebrate the Days of Our Lives’ 60th anniversary.
In addition to Peter Reckell (Bo) and Kristian Alfonso (Hope), Alison Sweeney (Sami), Chandler Massey (Will), Victoria Konefal (Ciara), Matthew Ashford (Jack), Melissa Reeves (Jennifer), Christie Clark (Carrie), Lean Hunley (Anna) and Thaao Penghlis (Tony) are all coming back as well.
