The Bold and the Beautiful plans to shake up the canvas as 2020 comes to a close, and two of the show's most popular long-running couples are going to see their lives -- and their connections -- forever changed.
In a fall preview interview with Soap Opera Digest, the show's executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell, says that he is finally ready to stop putting Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) on the merry-go-round; they're either going to stay together this time or break up for good -- period.
"They're happy. They're together. They will be working as a team," Bell says of what's currently being seen on-screen. But he adds that outside forces could act as bulldozers to their relationship -- and if that happens, then it's really over for this longtime pair.
"Brooke and Ridge are determined to take some action against Quinn [Rena Sofer], who is holding on for dear life to Eric [John McCook], so we'll see some more conflict between Quinn and Brooke and Ridge," Bell teases. "And then, as the Steffy [Jacqueline MacInnes Wood] and Hope [Annika Noelle] drama rolls out, Brooke is on Hope's team and Steffy has Ridge on her side so that will also again cause stress cracks in Brooke and Ridge's relationship. But this has to be the last time that Brooke and Ridge are together, solid forever. I can't imagine that they could break up and make up again."
Meanwhile, Bell says to be ready for a huge change in the lives of Bill (Don Diamont) and Katie (Heather Tom), who will be experiencing a major shakeup when the holidays are over.
"They're at a real crossroads in their relationship. Katie is powerful, beautiful, independent, and the smartest person in Los Angeles in our little world, and she's had enough," Bell shares. "In the early part of 2021, they're going to be confronted with something that will take over their lives and either they will rise to the occasion and make this marriage work or go in separate directions -- but something definitive is happening for them soon."
Bell also shares that he has plenty of drama in store for all of the other B&B characters this winter, including the continuation of the much-talked-about relationship between Thomas (Matthew Atkinson) and Hope Mannequin.
"This mannequin is really a part of Thomas's psyche," Bell reveals. "The mannequin slowly comes to life, and all of it is really happening between the ears of Thomas. It's all in his mind, but it seems very real at the time."
For more information about the Thomas and Hope Mannequin storyline, check out Soap Central's new, in-depth interview with Atkinson here. And for more information about B&B's fall preview, visit Soap Opera Digest.
How do you feel about Brad Bell's plans for Brooke and Ridge, and for Bill and Katie? What are your thoughts on B&B's Hope Mannequin storyline? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
