Homewrecker Brooke Logan celebrates 30 years of 'The Bold and the Beautiful'

23 April 2017 - 02:00 By GABI MBELE
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Katherine Kelly Lang with some of Brooke Logan's hubbies in 'The Bold and the Beautiful': Ridge (Ronn Moss) and Ridge's dad Eric (John McCook).
Katherine Kelly Lang with some of Brooke Logan's hubbies in 'The Bold and the Beautiful': Ridge (Ronn Moss) and Ridge's dad Eric (John McCook).
Image: SUPPLIED

She's been married 19 times, has wrecked many a happy home and can't seem to go a day without some new drama in her life.

Sound like a soap opera? It is.

This year actress Katherine Kelly Lang — better known to TV audiences as Brooke Logan — is celebrating 30 years on The Bold and the Beautiful.

The blonde temptress has been with the show since its launch in March 1987. She was 25 years old when she signed on and three decades later she hardly looks older.

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The Sunday Times interviewed Lang and other cast members in Los Angeles this week to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the show, which has amassed 35million viewers across the globe.

The first glimpse of the star in her dressing room is a shock. Aged 55, she doesn't look a day over 30. Her long blonde hair is lush and full, her skin is flawless bar a few tiny wrinkles and she has the body of someone half her age.

But the resemblance ends there. Instead of the glamorous designer clothes she wears on the show, Lang is dressed in sneakers and a sweatshirt, and comes across as sporty and health-conscious.

She says all she has in common with Brooke is the blonde hair.

"I'm an entrepreneur, I love my alone time and certainly don't cry as much as she does," she said.

"I love playing Brooke but often she frustrates me for being so loving. I wish she could be single for a while, or gain interest in things other than men."

The soft-spoken mother of three said she could barely remember anything from early seasons of the show as "I don't let Brooke be a part of my life".

Lang says she has mastered the art of crying on demand on the set.

"I use it as an outlet for myself. Sometimes it helps me to feel better but sometimes it's so confusing because if I don't cry once that week, then I cry when I am alone," she laughs.

Of the 19 times she has married on set, 10 have been with soulmate Ridge Forrester, who was played by Ronn Moss until 2012 when he left and was replaced by Thorsten Kaye.

Her favorite moments on the show have been her multiple weddings to Ridge, as well as a storyline about homeless people.

"It's a crisis in Los Angeles, but we raised so much money for the local homeless shelters, which is always moving if you can use your job to do something good for someone else."

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Brooke has also tied the knot with Ridge's father, Eric Forrester, played by 72-year-old actor John McCook, who is the only other cast member to have been with the show since its inception.

"It's a little touching, seeing yourself from 30 years ago," McCook said.

"This is very sentimental for Katherine and me to go back so far and for so long. It's amazing that the show has been successful for all those years."

McCook joined the show when he was 42. He has won two daytime Emmys and is as much a smooth talker in life as on the show.

"I would never leave the show ... this is a great place to work."

He said he could also have a private life because in Hollywood daytime television actors were not stalked as much.

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Costume designer Glenda Maddox, who has worked on the show for four years, dresses the cast from a gigantic wardrobe of designer clothes.

"On average per week we prepare 55 outfits for the show," she said.

Set in Los Angeles, California, The Bold and the Beautiful centres on the Forrester family and their fashion house business, Forrester Creations.

The storyline began years ago with Brooke, who hails from a modest but loving home, falling for the suave and sophisticated Ridge Forrester. For years the two have a tumultuous relationship, with many challenges and love triangles. During one break-up, Brooke marries Ridge's father, while Ridge finds comfort with Taylor Haynes (played by Hunter Tylo).

The story spans several generations, as children from the relationships grow up, and feuds and rivalries develop — at home and in the office.

In South Africa, The Bold and the Beautiful's viewership numbers have taken a dive since being moved from SABC1 to SABC3 a few years ago.

Although it is the most popular international soapie and the only one that appears in the top 20 watched shows, according to the Broadcast Research Council, its audiences aren't as large as those for local soapies Uzalo and Generations: The Legacy, which have more than eight million viewers an episode.

This year the number of B&B viewers dwindled from just over a million in January to 665,445 in March. By comparison, DStv soapie Isibaya had 1.2million viewers last month.

mbeleg@sundaytimes.co.za

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