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Sex, Booze, Insanity: Hot Scoop From The Bold and the Beautiful Boss Bradley Bell

It's March Madness on CBS's The Bold and the Beautiful! Katie (Heather Tom) and Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) hit the sack. Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) hits the bottle. Dead Darla (Schae Harrison) returns as a ghost. And who knows what's going on with that crazy Aly (Ashlyn Pearce)? TV Guide Magazine went to exec producer-head writer Bradley Bell for all the dish.

Michael Logan

It's March Madness on CBS's The Bold and the Beautiful! Katie (Heather Tom) and Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) hit the sack. Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) hits the bottle. Dead Darla (Schae Harrison) returns as a ghost. And who knows what's going on with that crazy Aly (Ashlyn Pearce)? TV Guide Magazine went to exec producer-head writer Bradley Bell for all the dish.

TV Guide Magazine: Ridge and Katie sealing the deal with sex (March 18) must be devastating for Brooke, no?
Bradley Bell: Brooke is completely stunned. Her head is spinning. She never loses! It's such a foreign concept to her that she could be No. 2 — and losing Ridge to her sister, Katie, of all people! When B&B started, who would have thought that little Katie with the pimples would steal away the one and only Ridge Forrester? [Laughs] It was the ultimate long shot! Brooke feels very betrayed by Katie.

TV Guide Magazine: And Ridge just comes out smelling like a rose?
Bell: Ridge is all about what's right for Ridge and he is not going to be denied. He's made his decision and everyone else better get out of the way! Brooke and Katie have been trying to keep their sisterly bond but this really puts the relationship to the test. Brooke doesn't know quite how to handle it, so she ends up turning to liquor. Our Brooke will hit the skids.

TV Guide Magazine: Bill [Don Diamont] has also been drinking heavily. Are you doing a Days of Wine and Roses-typestory?
Bell: No, but Bill and Brooke will realize they're much more alike than they thought. We'll be taking them into some interesting new territory.

TV Guide Magazine: Were you at all reluctant to have your golden girl Katie play the I-have-a-bad-heart card and fake a collapse at the Ridge-Brooke wedding? That was pretty low.
Bell: I was a bit concerned about that but I was more interested in creating an opportunity for Brooke's character finally to shine again, and that meant having Katie do something that was very questionable. [Laughs] Plus, I needed a good Friday tag! 

TV Guide Magazine: What can you spill about the Ridge-Katie sex scene?
Bell: We cleared the set, that's for sure! We really spent a lot of time on the look of it. I'm trying to work more creatively with lighting and silhouettes. It's artistic and very beautiful lovemaking.

TV Guide Magazine: Are Ridge and Katie a couple for the ages or is this going to last three weeks?
Bell: We're good for a while, but there will be an incredible challenge for them coming up in the summer. 

TV Guide Magazine: Ridge hooking up with Katie must be great news for Bill!
Bell: He loves this! In fact, he thinks he's upgraded. He's over and done with Katie and her depression and her issues. She's always thinking. She's always telling him to stop drinking. Whereas Brooke is just happy and sexy and there ya go. They are two very different Logan women. [Laughs] Bill thinks he came out way ahead in this deal! 

TV Guide Magazine: Let's move on to your other big story — young Aly Forrester. Last time we talked, you swore that she wasn't going psycho!
Bell: And I still say she isn't! She's not exactly crazy. She's... complicated. Years ago, Aly's mother, Darla, was senselessly mowed down and killed by Taylor [Hunter Tylo], who has now come back into the picture. Taylor is a name Aly does not speak. When she sees her, there will be fireworks! She considers Taylor to be a big hypocrite — a therapist who tells people how to live their lives yet it was her drinking and irresponsibility that led to the death of Darla. And she never really paid for the crime. Aly finds the whole thing completely disgusting.

TV Guide Magazine: Darla returns in spirit form (March 18). What's up with that?
Bell: Aly has been through a lot of therapy to help her cope with the tragedy. She's still feeling great anger and loss and these conversations with her mother have been going on for quite some time. They have allowed her to stay in a very comfortable, childlike place.

TV Guide Magazine: Aly's sudden hatred for Wyatt [Darin Brooks] doesn't quite track. When we first met her, it seemed like she wanted Hope [Kim Matula] and Wyatt together because she had a crush on Liam [Scott Clifton]. Did you change course?
Bell: Oh, she still has a crush on Liam. This could be one of those slow-burn kind of things. [Laughs] I am capable of doing something on the slow burn, you know! Liam is funny, he's gentle, he's safe — everything Aly likes in a man. But there is also another man coming in her direction, someone who is already on the show. 

TV Guide Magazine: During the Darla scenes, we will find out that Aly's bedroom is a floor-to-ceiling shrine to Hope. That's pretty nuts, wouldn't you say?
Bell: Aly was so taken with the message behind the Hope for the Future fashion line — being a good citizen, being environmentally aware and, especially, waiting for marriage to have sex. At first, Hope really believed in all this. Now she's out there having sex and juggling men. Aly is very unhappy with that. She liked the good, decent Hope and she's going to try to steer her back to more conservative values. In her mind, Hope has turned into Miley Cyrus!

TV Guide Magazine: That sounds annoying, especially for Hope
Bell: Well, it is annoying but this is part of Aly's evolution. Sure, she shouldn't be losing her temper on the job — she's supposed to be shadowing at Forrester and someone forgot to tell her that shadows don't speak. But I wanted her to be young and naïve and flawed and a little nerdy, someone who makes horrendous teenage mistakes, so that we have somewhere to go with this character. Over the next few months, we'll watch this child become a woman — and a real Forrester to be reckoned with!

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