Angela Bishop: “JJ is back again on Bold & the Beautiful”

Angela Bishop has just arrived back in Australia after covering the Academy Awards and making yet another appearance on The Bold & the Beautiful.

And she couldn’t be happier about returning to the global hit soap.

“JJ is back again! I can’t believe it. Bradley Bell keeps writing the LA’s greatest event planner back in and I love it. It’s such a thrill. Bradley Bell knows and loves the fans and is respectful at all times of the story, the past and the relationships that the fans have with the characters.”

Bishop has been making cameos as event planner JJ for some 5 years, but this time not for a wedding.

“No, that would be big news. The last wedding I organised was Brooke & Ridge’s. There’s no wedding on the horizon at the moment. No, I’m organising the opening party for Il Giardino because Deacon’s (Sean Kanan) just bought the restaurant and he’s going to have a big opening,” she explains.

Bishop is always welcomed back by cast and crew whenever she steps onto Stage 31 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles.

“It’s such a beautiful feeling. They literally come up and go, ‘JJ is back!’ They say ‘It’s great to see you’ and the crew too. They’ve got female directors on the show and I’m best buddies with the mistress of Props.

“Last time I left a photograph of JJ and Ridge in a frame on the sideboard behind the main desk in the Forrester office. Now, when you watch the show, you’ll see the sideboard in that office has a whole lot of photos of the Forrester family and cast -probably about 35 photos. When I was there last time, I put a photo of me and Ridge there just to see whether anyone would notice…..I had viewers texting me saying ‘The photo’s still there!’

“But when I was filming this few weeks ago it was missing. The prop’s mistress said, ‘Brooke got jealous and she moved it.’ They found it in a drawer but it’s back in its rightful place on the sideboard. So even the crew are lovely to me.

“The cast learn 20 pages of dialogue and I’ve got three lines so I just make sure that I don’t stuff up those three lines! That’s my main mission.”

So just what is it about Bold that distinguishes it from other soaps? According to Bishop the show has had a lot of ‘firsts’. They’re even welcoming of ideas suggested by Studio 10 viewers for storylines and new relationship ideas for characters.

“Overwhelmingly most of the viewers and fans said they’d like to see Brooke and Taylor (Krista Allen) get together. I put that two I put that to Krista and to Katherine and they both thought it was a sensational idea. Imagine if we saw that one day! These two people from the love triangle with Ridge (Thorsten Kaye), if they actually got together! The show has been groundbreaking in many ways and it moves with the times a lot faster I think, than all the other soaps.

“The thing to understand about these daytime dramas is the passion that fans have for them. There’s nothing like it in either any other form of TV. I’m coming up to 34 years in May and I’ve worked on a bunch of different shows, late night like The Panel, morning variety with Bert news, etc. and no fans come close to the passion and devotion of fans of Bold & the Beautiful and daytime soaps. And it’s a magic that comes in because I’ve been lucky enough to look at it from the inside. You know,

“It’s just a thrill to be around people with such respect to the medium. People I’ve worked with every day at Studio 10, and on the news are the same as well and I think that’s why I still love it here after 34 years.

“If you ever see people who are lucky enough to be in this business, treating the job with disdain because they don’t love it anymore, or they just don’t don’t have that spark anymore, I think that’s one of the saddest things. We’re really lucky to be playing in this arena and that’s what I’d see every time I’m lucky enough to visit the Bold set.”

As to what’s coming up for the soap, Bishop is remaining suitable tight-lipped.

“The Bill (Don Diamont) and Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) relationship took everyone by surprise and I think it’s fair to say it’s going to be going in some interesting directions. I think that’s the best thing I can say,” she teases.

And she remains fascinated watching Sheila’s storylines -a character who originally appeared in The Young and the Restless , created by Bradley Bell’s parents William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell.

“Sheila usually just comes in, murders a couple of people, causes havoc and then disappears again for a while. But this time her storyline has really been long-lasting and developing. It’s taken some amazing twists and turns. Fans have been loving it.”

Those fans including 10 viewers, the network that has a lifetime deal for the famed soap. If ever episodes are held over for news events, they are quick to unleash their wrath on the network.

“The switchboard melts down. People get on the phone and call as well as going through social media. The fans reach out to me too and ask me anything, which I love.”

Fittingly, she adds, “I love anyone who loves TV!”

Angela Bishop appears on The Bold & the Beautiful at 4:30pm today on 10.