Was I coming down with the flu, I mean it was running rampant in my town? Or maybe it was the Chinese I ate the night before that was playing havoc with my stomach. Actually, it was none of the above. It was the anticipation that I felt, as I watched the clock and waited for the legendary Ms. Andrea Evans to call for our interview. The clock seemed to crawl and time seemingly stood still as I waited for Andrea to call. Alas, the phone did not ring at our scheduled time and I began to settle back in to my daily routine. Then out of the blue, my office phone rings and the most delightful and apologetic voice radiates from the other end.

“I’m so sorry,” Evans says with a laugh. “I totally overslept and missed our appointed time Paul (her manager) is sooo going to kill me,” the laughter continuing. Hey, I was not sorry….this writer is speaking to daytime icon Andrea Evans and even though the anticipation is rising, I am LOVING absolutely EVERY minute of it. 

As our conversation continued, I quickly began to see why Evans is a fan favorite and why this daytime vet needed all the rest she can get.

“My family is still out on the West Coast,” she shares. “I tape all my scenes over a 2 to 3 day time period, so I am not away from my husband and daughter for very long.” Evans continues, “in fact I am able to spend more time with my family being back on One Life than I did when I was on any other show.”

Speaking of being back on One Life to Live, how does Ms. Evans feel stepping back into Tina Lord’s spiky heels? “I am THRILLED to be back on the show and playing Tina,” she says excitedly. And Evans is not the only one who is thrilled she has come back home.  If you visited any message board around the time Evan’s return was announced, then you saw the multitude of messages from longtime viewers rejoicing about her long overdue return to the show and role that made her a household name among daytime viewers.

Part of the reason I decided to come back now was the fans,” shares Evans. “Every time I would go to an event I would always get asked when Tina was coming back to Llanview,” she continues with a laugh. Now that she is back, I asked Evans if she could give me (and you guys) a hint at what is in store for Llanview’s longtime vixen? “No, if I tell you then you won’t want to watch,” she says laughing. “All I can say is that there is some good stuff that will be playing out over the next few weeks, viewers will want to tune in and watch.”

Could some of that good stuff involve Tina’s sibling’s Viki and Todd and her relationship with both of them? “I always enjoyed the dynamics that occurred in the relationship between Viki and Tina,” she shares. “I am looking forward to see how the show explores the sibling relationship between Todd and Tina.”

And how could a feud with former sister-in-law Blair, impact her sibling bonding with Todd?? “Hmmm a feud between Blair and Tina, could be VERY interesting.” Especially since Blair was once romantically involved with Tina’s ex-hubby Cord Roberts, who recently made a visit to Llanview and crossed paths with his former wife. Could there be any unfinished business and unrequited feelings between the former married (like fans hope)? “I honestly do not know where the show would go with something like that,” she says. “Right now, Tina has Cain back in her life and back in town.”

Now that we have Evans back as Tina, fans are hoping that she will stick around longer than she originally planned. “I don’t know what they have in store or planned long term for Tina,” she says. “If it is meant to be for me to come back or stick around, then we shall see.”

In the meantime, viewers will have to revel in seeing Evans on our screens for only a little while longer, as she settles into a plethora of other projects she has going on in her life and managing to balance daytime with family time. 

One of these projects, has Evans continuing her ongoing fight to find a cure for breast cancer. “My mother suffered from breast cancer,” shares Evans. It was watching her mother suffer from this illness that helped contribute and give rise in her desire to find a cure. Currently, Evans serves as celebrity ambassador for the “Walk for Hope” 5k fun and leisure walk in Los Angeles. “The Walk for Hope was designed to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer research, as well as providing treatment and educational programs for cancer patients.”

And Evans is not the only one out there raising awareness of this deadly disease.  Recently, she collaborated and partnered with LATHER to create Soap for Hope, 2 all natural skin care products that will help provide funding for breast cancer research. “I have been a fan of Lather’s products for a while now,” says Evans. It was her love for this product and her giving personality that led her to partner with the company and co-sponsor the Walk for Hope. 

“Fans can go to www.lather.com/soapforhope to view and purchase the products we created,” she says. “The company will donate a certain amount from each sale to the City of Hope Organization.”

The time flew in this interview, and this writer certainly had a blast talking with Evans and learning more about her family, charity work and career in daytime. However, their was still one question I felt I had to ask Ms. Evans before we hung we up and that was her thoughts on Passions.

“You know, I really enjoyed being on that show,” she shares. “It was fun, entertaining and quirky and we definitely had a great run. I admire Direct TV for bringing the show to their company and trying to keep it going for the viewers.”

I would like to thank Andrea for taking time out of her busy schedule to talk with us here at Soaptown USA. I would also like to thank her manager Paul, for making this interview happen…with him it would not have been possible. If you would like to learn more about Andrea, Lather products, the City of Hope and the upcoming November 9^th 5k “Walk for Hope,” please visit Evans official site at http://www.andreaevans.com.

Photos courtesy of ABC, and  JPIStudios