Judith Chapman returns to DAYS in devilish role

Rumors have been swirling for months, and the news is now official: Days of our Lives has rehired The Young and the Restless' Judith Chapman (Gloria Abbott) -- but for what role?

Things will be taking a strange turn in Salem come Halloween night, and one of the eerie yet exciting twists in store includes the return of Judith Chapman! But will she be reprising her role as Anjelica Deveraux, whom she played from 1989 to 1991? The character dropped dead earlier this summer when Morgan Fairchild was playing the role, but as viewers know, Salemites never lie in their graves for long...

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That being said, it seems Anjelica won't be springing from her coffin -- this Halloween, at least. Word on the street is that Chapman has taken on the new character of Leo Stark's mother, Diana Cooper. Is the rumor a trick... or a treat? If proved to be true, the casting twist would be fun for multiple reasons, one being that Chapman and Leo Stark's portrayer, Greg Rikaart, also play mother and son pair Gloria Abbott and Kevin Fisher on The Young and the Restless.

Earlier this year, Rikaart took on the role of Leo, a conniver hired by Vivian (Louise Sorel) to seduce Sonny (Freddie Smith). After months of causing all kinds of trouble for the residents of Salem, Leo was put out of his misery during an altercation with Sonny and Will (Chandler Massey) that ended with his head accidentally bashing into a fireplace. Rumor has it that Diana has come to Salem to seek revenge for her son... and that Leo himself might not be too far behind. Will the character's mother prove to be as troublesome as her son? A sneak peek photo of Chapman's arrival in Salem screams that whoever she is playing, it's going to be devilishly fun.

Enthuses Chapman of her return to DAYS: "It isn't easy to keep something quiet for nearly 6 months!! At the same time I was rehearsing BLITHE SPIRIT, I got the call from DAYS... Playing a Spirit on stage and Television...HAHAHA....A FUN HALLOWEEN TO ALL!!!!"

Judith Chapman has a rich history in daytime. She first appeared on As the World Turns as Natalie Bannon Hughes and then went on to play Sandra Montaigne on One Life to Live, Charlotte Greer on Ryan's Hope, and Ginny Blake on General Hospital. She has been playing Y&R's Gloria since 2005 and will continue on Y&R in a recurring capacity as she simultaneously works at DAYS.

While pondering over which Salemite Chapman is playing this time around, consider this: the NBC soap opera has a penchant for bringing back former actors in new roles. Kyle Lowder originally played Brady Black and recently returned to the show in the role of Rex Brady; Josh Taylor originally came to the show as Chris Kositchek and was rehired to play Roman Brady; Wayne Northrup played the original Roman Brady before returning to the show as Dr. Alex North; Renee Jones played Nikki Wade before returning as Lexie Carver; and John Aniston played the DAYS role of Dr. Eric Richards before later rejoining the soap as Victor Kiriakis.

Funny enough, Chapman already has experience returning to a soap opera in a new role. She was originally hired at Y&R as a temporary replacement for the role of Jill Abbott and was later asked to come back to the CBS soap opera as Gloria after original portrayer Joan Van Ark left the series.

Check out a sneak peek preview of Chapman's return to DAYS and a few other Halloween hijinks set to spook Salem here. And don't forget to let us know in the comment section below what you think about DAYS bringing Chapman back to Salem.

How do you feel about Judith Chapman returning to DAYS? What kind of trouble do you think she'll bringing to Salem this time around? 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.

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