Baywatch Star Works Up a Sweat

Former soap hunk Jason Brooks says working on Days of Our Lives was like a day at the beach compared to playing lifeguard team leader Sean Monroe on Baywatch Hawaii.

"Working out for this role became not so much an aesthetic issue but one of survival," Brooks tells TV Guide Online. "This is by far the most demanding job that I've ever had. The ocean conditions can be dangerous and arduous. If you're not properly prepared you can hurt someone."

Then again, we can't feel too sorry for Brooks. Next season, his Baywatch character is expected to get caught in a love triangle with returning love interest Jenna (played by his former Days co-star Krista Allen) and a new character played by Playboy Playmate Brandi Roderick. "I'm not sure what's going on," he says of next season's romantic plot lines. "I'm the last to know anything."

But he does know that we can expect to see some retooling of the series under the helm of former Melrose Place producer Frank South. "We're in the process of reidentifying the show," he says. "There will still be all the elements ? beautiful people and even more beautiful environments in Hawaii ? but the main focus will be on drama, compelling stories and characters. The scripts I've seen thus far are more character-based. It's exciting."