“I played the role of a young Maggie in the 1983 miniseries The Thorn Birds with Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward,” Penny recounts. She continues, “The further I have gotten from the role, the more I appreciate the role and who I was working with… I mean the caliber of my co-stars Richard Chamberlain, Barbara Stanwyck, at the age of 12 you just don’t realize… Only as I have gotten older have I realized what an AMAZING project this was and to be honest, they don’t make television like that any more,” she says with awe. Penny goes on to reveal that “over on stage 18 at Warner Brothers studios there is a plaque that lists everything that has been shot there over the years, and the Thorn Birds is one of the projects that is listed…so essentially I am part of television history and it is DEFINITELY something that makes you sit back and go WOW.”

Obviously Penny’s performance in the Thorn Birds made someone in Hollywood also sit back and go WOW, because the flood gates opened and the roles began pouring in. Penny was soon seen on television sets across the United States on such prime time shows as St. Elsewhere, Jack’s Place, Hyperion Bay, Beverly Hills 90210, and the syndicated show The New Gidget. In addition, Penny graced the big screen co-starring with Clint Eastwood in the film Pale Rider, and with Sophia Loren in the film Running Away.

It was then in 1993, after the cancellation of Santa Barbara that Penny packed up and moved back east, this time to the Big Apple and to the alphabet network and the role of Julia Santos Keefer, a role she played until her exit in 1996 and then again for brief visits in 1997 and 2002. After Julia and Noah left Pine Valley, Penny and her husband packed up and moved back to the West Coast where she appeared on Beverly Hills 90210 and the NBC drama Sunset Beach where she filled in for actress Susan Ward who played the role of Meg Cummings. 

B&B’s loss is All My Children’s gain once again as Penny returns to the role that made her famous to daytime fans and earned her an Emmy nomination. “I start filming in early July and hope to start airing in early August,” she says.

So what exactly led Penny to come “home”? “Timing,” she confides. Penny goes on to elaborate, “like any decision that you make in life, so many factors went into my decision to return…I have been gone from the show for about 8 years, even though I have made a few guest appearances, and I have done things in the intervening years that have been GREAT for me as an actress, but the time felt right for me to return to AMC and the fact that they wanted me back and have a specific reason for having Julia back on the canvas, also helped shape my decision.”

What head writer Megan McTavish and the show have in store for Penny and Julia is still a mystery at press time. “I honestly do not know and I am curious to see what Julia and Noah have been up to since going into the Witness Protection Program and what events ultimately lead Julia to leave and resume her real identity,” she says excitedly. However, Penny does let me in on a little secret…. A secret that she would like to see re-visited on the show. “Longtime fans may remember that Julia and Kendall had a feud going on and I would honestly LOVE to see Megan rekindle this feud once again,” Penny says with a laugh. The difference this time would be Kendall’s portrayer. “Alica (Minshew) is doing fantastic in the role,” Penny says. “She is perfect for it and a natural and I do hope we get to work together.”

Julia’s arrival comes hot on the heels of her sisters Maria and Anita’s departure. “There has to be at least one Santos in Pine Valley,” Penny says with a laugh. So unfortunately, Penny will not share any scenes with her good friend and on screen sister, Eva LaRue. “It’s funny how she is coming out to the West Coast just as I am preparing to move back East,” Penny says with a laugh. She continues, “Eva and I are such good friends, in fact we are more like sisters,” she says. “I do hope that Julia and Maria will have some interaction with one another at some point, but I am not sure if that will happen.”

In the meantime, Penny is looking forward to Julia rekindling old friendships. “I am positive that Julia will be a good ear for those who knew her and will quickly become a confidant to those who are new to Pine Valley,” she says. 

But what remains a mystery is whether or not Julia will be returning alone or with the man of her dreams, whom she married in a Cinderella style ceremony, Noah Keefer. “Keith (Hamilton Cobb, ex-Noah) and I are good friends and we do stay in touch, but I can honestly say I have no idea whether or not the network or the show for that matter has approached him about returning with me,” she says.

So should Julia return to Pine Valley, single and ready to kick her heels up, which lucky hunk will catch her eye? “Hmmm, I will have to get back to you later on that one, once Julia sees her options,” she says coyly and with a laugh.

One rumor making its way across the Internet is that Julia may catch the eye of her sister’s boyfriend, dashing Brit Aiden Devane. “Hmm wouldn’t that make an interesting triangle between Julia, Aiden and Anita,” Penny says excitedly. “I think everything is positioned so well for Julia’s return, with this group of people that I am in with now, age wise and relationship wise… I do think that you need an outside force stirring things up and I do really hope that is me,” she says with a chuckle. 

And if making a jump from one coast to the other was not enough for this phenomenal actress, Penny has kept many irons heating in the fire. “My husband and I renovate homes and just finished one out here in California,” she says. 

But her biggest project has been filming Hidden Places, a movie for the Hallmark Channel that is slated to air towards the end of this year or early next year. “I play a widow whose husband leaves her with an orange grove and small children during the great depression, she has to harvest all of the crops so to speak and needs some help.” And that help comes in the form of co-star Jason Gedrick. “Jason plays a hobo in the movie that helps my character harvest her crops and they end up falling in love with one another,” she says sweetly. “I also got to act along side Shirley Jones, Tom Bosley and Barry Corbin… in fact Shirley and I would sing with one another in between filming and that was just the coolest thing,” she says with excitement. 

In the meantime, fans will just have to wait and see what is in store for Ms. Santos when she pops up in Pine Valley in August. “ I am VERY excited to be back on the show and in a role I am very familiar with,” she says. So will Sydney make an appearance at this years AMC fan club luncheon in August? “If I am available and am invited, I would definitely LOVE to be a part of the event and say hello to the all the fans.”

Ms. Penny, your legion of fans would love to say hello to you too.

Thank you to Sydney for so graciously taking time out of her busy schedule to set up this interview and to Bob McGowan for arranging the interview for SoapTown USA. 

For more information on Sydney, check out her official site