SOAP Q: Who will be the next gay couple in daytime soaps?

Via Greg in Hollywood:

Reid is dead and Luke and Noah are united as friends as the CBS soap As the World Turns fades to black this tomorrow.

Here’s hoping that one of network’s other soaps, The Young and the Restless, will shine a spotlight on its gay characters Phillip Chancellor III and Rafe Torres. The actors who play the roles, Thom Bierdz and Yani Gellman, respectively, have made clear recently that both want their characters to find romance.

Bierdz wrote on his Facebook page last week: THIS IS IT! today on Y&R PHILLIP AND RAFE MET – AND OBVIOUSLY HAD AN ATTRACTION! If you want more Phillip and Rafe, write to audsvcs@cbs.com or go to http://www.cbs.com/ and at bottom of website, hit ‘feedback’ and fill in information!

In an interview with Soap Opera Digest Gellman said: “I’m interested in playing Rafe to the fullest, so I really want the opportunity to explore his personal life more and to have a fully-developed romance with another character.”

Last year, Rafe had a brief affair with Adam (Michael Muhney) but Adam was merely trying to distract the young lawyer from uncovering some dirt on him.

Gellman did not know until several episodes into his gig that Rafe would be gay: “It was a bit of a surprise , but I quickly realized that it would be a window into telling some really good stories. I was actually very excited about playing such a role … He has values, principals and goals like everyone else.”