Bold And The Beautiful: Behind The Scenes Secrets

The Bold and the Beautiful (B&B) has been on daytime for over three decades now, with a plethora of dedicated fans who tune in daily to watch the drama unfold. What started off as the sister show to The Young and the Restless (Y&R) has now become one of the top soap operas on television. The show debuted in 1987, chronicling the lives of the Forresters and Los Angeles’ fashion industry. While fans have seen some interesting and controversial stories from the B&B over the years, maybe the most interesting ones are those that occur on set. Below is a list of behind the scenes secrets of B&B.

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12. Hired The Homeless

During a 2010 storyline that focused on the issue of homelessness, not only did the B&B head to Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood for filming, but they also hired 25 real-life individuals that were homeless so that they could help relay their stories to the daytime drama world. An added 30 homeless individuals were given the jobs as extras, too. The sequences aired from October 28t to the 29th of that year and provided a powerful statement to audiences about the state of homelessness in the United States at that point in time.

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11. They’re So Gucci

Xtra, Canada’s Gay & Lesbian News was given access to a “behind-the-scenes” look at the B&B’s wardrobe department a few years back, and what was revealed was a shoe collection that would make anyone swoon. From Prada to Jimmy Choo, Vera Wang, and of course Gucci, the cast’s feet are always in stylish and in high-end designer form!

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10. B&B Goes Down Under

To celebrate its three decades on daytime TV, a huge milestone for any soap opera, the B&B headed to Australia in 2017 to film some episodes. It had been nine years since they had done this previously, and about 100 crew members and 11 cast members took the trip to the Land Down Under. The goal of the special location filming was not only to honor the show’s 30 years of success but also to assist this region with a little tourism push, as B&B’s producers partnered up with Australia’s national airline, Qantas. It’s no secret that the B&B has a huge fan base in this area, so it’s nice to know that the show gave back to their audience in this capacity.

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9. A Little Hair Dye Trick

Does anyone miss former Ridge Forrester, Ronn Moss? The handsome actor shocked B&B fans and the rest of the soap opera world when he left the show in 2012 after a quarter of a century with the daytime drama. Interestingly enough, he filled the role of Eric Forrester’s son at that time, played by John McCook, who at age 72, is only seven years older than Moss. Moss has been blessed with chiseled features and a baby face, but another trick B&B hairdressing artists used so that fans could not see a significant age difference between the two was to dye Eric’s hair grey.

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8. Location! Location! Location!

As the sister show of the Y&R, it’s no surprise that the B&B is located directly across from the infamous Genoa City set. However, daytime television mega-hit The Price is Right is also located nearby B&B’s set at the CBS studios. Wonder if Ridge or Brooke have ever tried their luck at spinning that crazy cash wheel? It would be oh so tempting …

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7. All in The Family

Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke Logan) has been with B&B from the very start, along with co-star John McCook. While her character has five children on the show, Katherine’s two boys in real life have made appearances on the soap. From 1990-1995, the role of Eric Forrester Jr. was played by her son Jeremy, while other son Julian played Brooke’s baby daughter Bridget (as a backup) in 1993.

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6. Kissing Without “Kissing”

During a Norfolk, Virginia Channel News 3 interview, Heather Tom (Katie Logan) revealed some pretty interesting details around love scenes at B&B. First and foremost, her first kiss actually took place onscreen! Secondly, she explained that as passionate as viewers think the love scenes are, they can be quite awkward as actors/actresses struggle to find a comfortable position by keeping their hands where they should be while trying to look intense. On-screen couples also work hard to kiss without really kissing. As Tom explains, she wouldn’t kiss her onscreen love interest the same way she does her husband – even though it looks so real to viewers. You fill in the blanks!

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5. What To Wear?

While some may think that the actors and actresses of B&B wake up, head to the office, and decide what their characters will wear that day – this is not the case. On-set wardrobe designers determine outfits right down the accessories and shoes of what each character will wear based on the scenes they will perform in that day. If Brooke wore heels during a scene at the beach… how awkward would that be? The wardrobe team may take a little input from an actor or actress if they don’t feel comfortable in what they are wearing for the day, but for the most part, their working clothes are set out already for them so that they can dive into rehearsals and tapings.

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4. The Wardrobe Room

B&B’s wardrobe room may seem more like a mini warehouse. It is literally filled to the brim (from the ceiling to the floor) with racks of clothes, accessories, purses, shoes, and more. Each character has their own section of clothing, etc., but as mentioned above, via instruction from the on-set wardrobe designers, they already know which clothes to reach for. Interestingly enough, there is an entire section within B&B’s wardrobe room dedicated to wedding dresses. Makes sense considering how frequently weddings take place on the show. In all seriousness, the dresses aren’t only used for weddings, but also the many fashion shows that occur on B&B… it is centered around the fashion industry after all.

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3. Time For Hair And Makeup

Much like each character’s outfits for the day, makeup and hair artists on the show follow a strict schedule. It’s referred to as a “Production Rundown” and hair and makeup is given one each morning, outlining which character will be in what kind of scene, so that the artists can determine what kind of makeup is needed for each B&B actor/actress, and how their hair should look. Far more methodical than one would think!

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2. Intense Schedules

Most fans are aware of how hectic the production and work schedule are for the cast and crew of any soap opera. Unlike their primetime counterparts, daytime dramas air five days each week with no hiatus in the summer time. B&B is no exception. During an interview with News.com.au in 2014, Katherine Kelly Lang revealed how much she adored being on the show all these years, but did say it was hard memorizing lines. After all, actors/actresses on B&B are required to memorize about 63 pages of lines in a day. During a typical 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. workday, the cast and crew are able to film about two episodes.

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1. Home Is Where The Heart Is

B&B has had some incredible sets over the years, especially the homes where a lot of the characters reside. When one is following the trials and tribulations of L.A.’s fashion industry elite, their houses better be pretty swanky. An interesting tidbit of information that some may not be aware of is the fact that Taylor Hayes’ home in Bel Air and the Forrester residence were both built to resemble the real-life home of B&B’s creators, Lee Phillip and William J. Bell. In fact, Brooke Logan’s house was modeled to resemble the estate of their son.