Okay soap fans let me ask you a question, have you ever turned on a daytime drama, only to see a familiar face now playing a beloved character? Well, that happened to me when I tuned into As the World Turns during my summer vacation in June 2005.

As a lot of you now know, this writer is a closet ATWT fan. Maybe it’s the hunky men saving the damsels in distress, or perhaps it’s the scheming, skulking and conniving villains and vixens, such as James Stenbeck, Barbara Ryan, Lucinda Walsh and John Dixon. Oh how I love all the characters, but there was one in particular who definitely caught my attention during the 80’s and early 90’s…..the character of Meg Snyder, originally played by actress Jennifer Ashe. 

I loved to hate the character of Meg, especially all the heartache she bestowed on town heroine, Lily Walsh as she plotted and schemed to keep Lily and her brother Holden apart. However, Meg found a place in this viewer’s heart, as she softened from a disastrous marriage to scoundrel Tonio Reyes, while eventually finding love with Josh Snyder Stricklyn.

Meg made only sporadic visits to Oakdale since leaving the canvas in the early 90’s, returning permanently in 2005, divorced and with a different face. And that face was recognized by daytime fans across the networks, as it belonged to fan fave Marie Wilson.  When I mentioned to Miss Wilson that I was very familiar with her work and loved her in the role of Dr. Karen Wexler, on ABC’s Port Charles she could only say one word…. “Wow.”

I could not believe that Dr. Karen Wexler and I were actually carrying on a conversation on this steamy August afternoon. I did confess something to Wilson though, how excited I was when I realized she had taken over the role of Meg Snyder Stricklyn on ATWT in June of 2005 and was once again back on daytime. 

Based on the West coast, I asked the talented actress how she came to be cast in a role on the East coast and how that affected her life.

“It kind of fell into place actually,” Wilson shares with a chuckle, as she was patiently waiting for a flight back to the West Coast for a fun filled weekend with her husband and 6 year old daughter.” The bicoastal commuter reveals, “Viewers may not be aware that I fly back to Los Angeles every weekend to be with my family.”  Being a working mother is never an easy task, but being a working mother who is 3,000 miles away from your family….well that has to be tough at times.  “It is tough at times, but we are making it work,” admits Wilson.

Talk of travels and family gave way to the business at hand, talk of the trials and tribulations of her character. And boy what trials and tribulations Meg has found herself in over the last year. She falls in love with the handsome Paul Ryan, only to find herself making a deal with the devil as she agreed to marry dastardly Craig Montgomery, in hopes of helping Lucinda and Lily obtain ownership of Worldwide once again while keeping Craig in the dark. Shock #1 – Paul’s alive.  Shock #2 – wait until Meg finds out Rosanna is back in town.

“Oh man I wish I could tell you what is going to happen,” teases Wilson with a laugh.  But I was able to get at least a few hints out of Wilson.  “All I can really tell you is that the Paul/Meg/Rosanna/Craig storyline is about to get VERY interesting, so viewers need be sure to tune in during the fall.” Hmmm, so does that mean longtime viewers could possibly see a feud between Meg and Rosanna that is reminiscent to the one she had with niece/step-daughter Lily Walsh during the 80’s?

“Oh that would be interesting, who knows what might happen between these two,” the delightful actress teases. Not only is Wilson’s storyline beginning to heat up, but so is her excitement as she begins work with daytime vet Cady McClain, who recently returned to the role of Rosanna Cabot. “Cady is so great to work with,” shares an excited Wilson about her upcoming scenes and storyline with McClain.

Ms. McClain isn’t the only returning familiar face to viewers this year. Scott Bryce returned to the role of Craig Montgomery and Wilson is just as excited to work with him. “Scott is so funny and so much fun to work with,” reveals Wilson about onscreen hubby Scott Bryce, who came back to the role after a 13 year absence.  “We are always laughing throughout rehearsals with one another,” Marie admits.

With Bryce being somewhat of a veteran on the show, I asked Wilson if he gave her any pointers for Meg or if he filled her in on all of Craig’s shenanigans on the show. “When I first came on to the show, I was provided with a lot of information regarding Meg’s history,” shares Wilson. “However, Scott has been a great help whenever I have had questions about characters and how they are connected and who did what to whom,” she laughs. 

One part of Meg’s history that viewers were glad to see explored was the rekindling of the romance between the lovely Mrs. Snyder Stricklyn and the dashing Dusty Donovan, this time being played by two different performers. “Grayson was great to work with,” she shares about Dusty’s current portrayer Grayson McCouch. So might Dusty swoop in to rescue Meg from Craig and Paul’s clutches and live happily ever after with her? “At this point, I think the writers are more focused on what is going on between Craig/Paul/Meg,” she says. 

So who knows what’s in store for Meg down the road, but Wilson offers her insights as to how she would write the character for one month if given the opportunity by the writing staff. “I like everything that is going on with Meg right now, she shares. “But the one aspect of Meg’s personality that I would bring back would be the spunkiness she had when she first came back to town, the trait the character seems to have lost lately,” says Wilson.

If Meg is about to battle the queen diva Rosanna Cabot, my suspicions are that Wilson might just get her wish.

“I want to thank all the fans for watching the show and for all their support,” says this gracious actress. Even though she cannot make most of the ATWT weekend fan events due to being with her family on the West Coast, Wilson says, “she loves interacting with the fans that she comes in contact with during the week.”

Marie Wilson is a lovely actress, a class act and we’re thrilled to be watching her wow viewers as Meg Snyder. Our thanks to Marie for taking time out of her busy schedule (and for letting us interrupt her travel back to Los Angeles) to talk to Soaptown.

Additional thanks to Johanna Bradford, head of publicity for Proctor & Gamble, for graciously setting up this interview.

To learn more about Marie and to join the official As the World Turns fan club, please visit http://www.officialatwtfanclub.com