In an exclusive interview with Soap Opera Digest, Susan Seaforth Hayes talks processing the news that one of the very anchors of the show was scheduled to meet a fiery end.

Susan Seaforth Hayes Talks Conflagration

Upon hearing of the writers plans for the Horton house, Seaforth Hayes admits she was seized by “a great deal of depression” and left wondering, “How could we do that? What will happen to the Horton family, what’s left of it? Where will Doug and Julie go?”

Luckily all her worry was for naught. As she explains, ” it was immediately made clear not to get too upset about it; it was immediately made clear for those of us who were deeply upset.”

It turns out the iconic set had already dodged a major bullet years earlier. According to Seaforth Hayes, “The Horton family home was set to be scrapped and burned and no longer visible on the show. The previous writers toyed with the idea of eliminating it. They were ready to ashcan the set and the whole concept. But it was saved. Cooler heads prevailed.”

This time around, a rebuild is very much in the cards. “The return of a home is played out,” assures Seaforth Hayes, adding, “I have a lot to do in those shows coming up following the fire.”

And that includes, “a nice plunge back into the history of the house; the history of Tom and Alice in the house, [Julie] and the kids, which I get to dwell on.” It’s heady stuff, but Seaforth Hayes prevailed. “It was so emotional for me, because of Francis (Reid, ex-Alice).” For those scenes she told the publication, “I went blank, which is unusual. I got up and had to walk around a little bit, try to calm down and say, ‘Now you can do this. You’ve done this before. This is the show. You do this.’ But it was hard…”

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