‘The Bold and the Beautiful’: Original cast member Ronn Moss exiting after 25 years — EXCLUSIVE

Image Credit: CLIFF LIPSON

After more than two decades on The Bold and the Beautiful, Ronn Moss is leaving the CBS soap where he’s played fashion magnate Ridge Forrester since the show’s 1987 inception, EW has learned exclusively.

The exact details are unclear, but an insider tells EW that Moss elected not to renew his contract over salary issues. Moss could not be reached for comment.

Production company Bell Phillip Television confirmed the exit. “Ronn has spent an amazing 25 years with B&B,” a rep for Bell Phillip said in a statement. “We will always consider him family, and we wish him only the best in all of his future endeavors.”

Moss was one of the so-called “core four” on Bold, referring to the foursome of original actors still on the show, including Susan Flannery as Stephanie Forrester, John McCook as Eric Forrester, and Katherine Kelly Lang as Brooke Logan.

Moss will shoot his final scenes for The Bold and the Beautiful this Tuesday, Aug. 14, and his last episode will air on a yet-to-be-determined date in September. (As a bit of hope for you fans out there: Big soap stars can — and sometimes do — return after leaving.)

It’s no secret that times have been tough for the genre lately, as just four daytime soaps — Bold, The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives, and General Hospital — remain on network television. Moss’ pay issue undoubtedly goes back to the stark reality that, as the daytime ad market has become much more competitive and now favors talk shows over dramas, these shows do not command the same big licensing fees that they once did. For the week ending Aug. 3, The Bold and the Beautiful drew 3.1 million viewers, putting it in second place behind genre leader The Young and the Restless. Last year, Bold was still said to be the biggest soap internationally, with 26.2 million worldwide viewers.

That huge international audience has made Moss a star around the world, exemplified by his second-place finish on Italy’s version of Dancing with the Stars in 2010 and an orange juice television advertisement in Australia, where he is particularly popular.

Tanner on Twitter: @EWTanStransky

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