Actress Crystal Chappell has signed a new contract with CBS' Guiding Light, guaranteeing her one more year with the Emmy-award winning daytime drama.  Chappell plays the villainous Olivia Spencer.

"I am so happy to be staying on Guiding Light for another year," Crystal Chappell said in a statement on her official web site.  "They are my family and hopefully, Olivia will find her own light.  Regardless of how some people feel about Olivia, I have always appreciated all the fans of the show."

The 42-year-old actress first joined Guiding Light in 1999.  Her work on the series earned her a 2002 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.  She was nominated in the same category in 2005 and 2006.  This year, she received her first nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress, but lost the award to Maura West, who plays Carly Tenney Snyder on As the World Turns.

Guiding Light is not the only soap opera in which Crystal Chappell appeared.  She made her daytime television debut on All My Children, had a brief run on Santa Barbara, spent two years on One Life to Live and played Dr. Carly Manning Alamain on Days of our Lives for three years.  Her primetime projects include Pensacola, Wings of Gold and Silk Stalkings.

The news of her re-signing comes two years after she asked to be released from Guiding Light, though show executives denied her request.  At the time, the daytime drama was experiencing a number of problems, including constant budget cuts.  Many cast members on contracts were dismissed from the show.  When Chappell asked to be let go, one speculation was that she was planning on joining another daytime drama.

"I did ask to be released from my [Guiding Light] contract," Crystal Chappell said, "but for my own reasons. It's not about going anywhere else."


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: www.soapcentral.com
(Image Courtesy of CBS)