“Days of Our Lives” star Deirdre Hall showed off her melodrama skills and slapped “Today” host Craig Melvin, and it was all in great fun.
“Of all the storylines you’ve been a part of over the years, the one thing I’ve always enjoyed is your ability to slap,” Melvin told the daytime icon on Friday’s broadcast, talking about the 50 years she’s played Dr. Malena Evans.
He added, “You’re a great slap,” to which Hall responded, “Well, thank you!”
“I can’t even imagine,” Hall, 78, who began appearing on NBC’s flagship show in 1976, admitted to Melvin when asked how many times he had slapped a co-star over the decades.
Melvin then joked, “If you could slap me, it would be one of the greatest professional honors of my life.”
“I’ll slap you!” Hall yelled before withdrawing his hand for a mock blow.
“Please be quiet,” Melvin said as the crew members could be heard laughing in the background.
“I’m going to pull my hand back and get very close to your face,” Hall told Melvin, adding that “if you feel like that,” “you should snap your head.”
After apparently being slapped in front of the camera, Melvin jokingly reacted in horror, twisting around and crying, “Oh my god!” While covering my left eye.
Hall, on the other hand, said, “I was going to miss it,” and the two laughed.
In the YouTube comment thread, fans erupted at the milestone of Hall’s 50th birthday.
“Love you Marlena!! Happy 50th!!!!!!!,” one person wrote, while another commented: “Great interview. I love Deirdre Hall… I’ve watched her for 50 years and days since she was 7 years old in 1965…”
“Long live Deirdre Hall and Malena!” a third person enthused.
Hall’s appearance on the show, which is set in the fictional town of Salem, Illinois, earned her three Daytime Emmy Award nominations.
For decades, she played the beloved psychiatrist opposite Drake Hogestyn’s John Black. Mr. Hogestyn passed away on September 28, 2024, the day before his 71st birthday, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
In a statement to Access Hollywood at the time, Hall said his co-star was “deeply loved by all who knew him and will be missed immeasurably.”
While Hogestyn’s role has been canceled from the show, Hall continues his long-running role as Dr. Evans, which will be available to stream on Peacock starting in 2022.
