Days Of Our Lives' Theresa Gets New Wigged-Out Look With Emily O'Brien

When "Days of Our Lives" star Jen Lilley dropped the bombshell news that she was unexpectedly let go from the show while filming her recent return as Theresa Donovan, she didn't name-drop who would replace her. But she did tell Soaps in an interview posted on August 28 that the recast was a current cast member and a brunette — whereas Lilley is blonde — and it was explained to her that the show would provide the newcomer with a blonde wig. There has been speculation for some time that Emily O'Brien, who currently plays Gwen Rizczech, would be taking over, and the bizarre casting switch was confirmed during the end credits of the October 2 episode, where she was listed as both Gwen and Theresa.

Lilley recounted to People an uncomfortable introduction with O'Brien, stating, "She's this sweet British girl, [and] she's like, 'I'm Emily O'Brien, so nice to meet you.' I was like, 'Who are you on the show?' And she's like, 'I play this character named Gwen,' and I'm like, 'Cool. Are we cousins? Are you good? Are you bad?'" Looking back at their conversation, Lilley felt bad for O'Brien, remarking, "All the while, [the] poor thing knows that she's the recast. At that point, nobody else knew."

Now we present a sneak peek at O'Brien's new look as Theresa, which will debut on the October 6 episode.

Jen Lilley has been nothing but gracious about being unceremoniously dumped from the show, despite the fact that then-co-executive producer Albert Alaar — who has since been fired for alleged misconduct behind the scenes — promised her she'd be shooting 12-weeks worth of scenes. When he informed her that Emily O'Brien was her replacement, he also stated that the recast would only be for the remaining scenes in that 12-week stretch that needed to be filmed.

Aghast, Lilley further told People, "That's not cool to do to Emily. I think Emily drew the shortest straw, honestly. I was like, 'That is the worst thing you could possibly do to a recast is be like, we're going to wig you and make you just walk through fire for eight weeks.'" Lilley couldn't explain the show's rationale for the actor change, remarking, "It's a little befuddling, but I still am really grateful that I got to go back." She kept up a tremendous front in the face of such an appalling situation, noting that she'd actually been on the show longer than she anticipated. "So I was like, no love lost. I love you guys," she warmly stated.

As you can see in the photos, O'Brien looks startlingly different as a blonde. She will also have to shed her British accent in favor of an American one, but we're confident she'll pull it off splendidly!