As the World Turns' Martha Byrne Recalls Supercouples, Doppelgängers, and Exit
Martha Byrne (ex-Lily/Rose, As the World Turns; ex-Andrea, General Hospital) guested on Soap Opera Digest's "Dishing with Digest" podcast recently. She shared her memories of being half of an iconic supercouple with Jon Hensley (Holden), playing identical twins Lily and Rose, and her exit from the show in 2008.
Of Lily and Holden's constant on-off relationship over the years, Byrne reflected:
So no, it was never a hindrance; it’s a gift. I mean, it’s such a gift. I mean, the fact that you guys put us on the cover for couples of a lifetime is such an honor because this is an institution, daytime is an institution of wonderful storytelling. To be part of that as a history is just an honor for me.
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And from 2000 to 2003, Byrne memorably played Lily's long-lost twin, Rose. She told SOD of the soapy twist:
I really needed something to kind of shake my tree a little bit. I felt like things were a little stagnant for me. When I say that I mean where do I go, like, everything was kind of done. When [EP] Chris Goutman presented it to me it was not supposed to be a biological twin, it was supposed to be just like a look-alike; that was the original idea. And then it was Hogan Sheffer who became the head writer right after that decision was made. He said, 'No, no, no, no. Let’s dive back into the history and make her a relative in some way.' So had he not done that, I think it would have fizzled …
Byrne also commented briefly on her 2008 exit from ATWT. She noted:
Yeah, was it a contract dispute? Ultimately is that what it ended up being? Yes. Was it a power struggle more on the other side? Yes. Okay. So, yeah, on paper that’s what it was, but it wasn’t. Why I don’t talk about it is because it’s very personal and it was very upsetting and I just couldn’t work there anymore.
