Bold & Beautiful’s Ashley Jones Tells a Real-Life American Horror Story That ‘Sent Chills Down My Spine’
The Bold and the Beautiful‘s Ashley Jones is no stranger to bringing complex women to life on screen. Now, she’s executive producing and starring in one of Lifetime’s latest “Ripped From the Headlines” series,
The true-crime story tells the tale of serial killer William Bradford from the perspective of a 15-year-old teen who was lucky enough to get away. He was a photographer and she was an aspiring model with Hollywood dreams. It’s a 1984 Los Angeles story that’s very familiar to Southern California residents because there was a renewed interest in the case in 2006. The LAPD released a series of headshots taken from the photos in Bradford’s apartment in hopes of identifying more victims.
“I remember driving down Sunset Boulevard, seeing the billboard saying, ‘Have you seen these women? Have you seen me?’ And it was all of these pictures,” Jones shares about the revisited true-crime tale that gripped the city almost 20 years ago. “It was in the newspaper. It was all over LA. And it freaked me out.”
Jones even remembers how vulnerable teens and young women were in the 1980s and 1990s when it came to talent calls for casting. “I saw those ads for the photo calls, where you could become a model. They had them in Venice Beach and Century City Mall,” she recalls. “They had them all over the place, and that was a breeding ground for serial killers, more than one. We’re telling the story of William Bradford in 1984. We’re just scratching the surface of one period of time that he did what he did.”
Bradford’s crimes were extremely dark, but Jones’ Lifetime movie focuses more on Thompson’s family and how their involvement in her modeling career helped save her from becoming one of the killer’s victims. She describes the film as a true “father-daughter story” with the suspense of a “thriller.”
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There’s even a real-life daytime connection to the Bradford tale — and it’s pretty shocking! All My Children‘s Eva LaRue and her sister, Nika, “had a very close call with William Bradford,” and Nika wound up on the poster released by the LAPD. Their case was eventually used in an episode of
Jones researched the LaRue sisters’ encounter while she was in preproduction for the Lifetime film, and she says, “[It] sent chills down my spine.” Jones adds, “Then I went and watched the episode, and it’s a slightly different version of what happened because it’s [Nika’s] story.” Now, Jones is sharing another perspective of Bradford with
Jones predicts, “I feel like Ryan Murphy, once he sees this, he’s going to jump right on.”
The Girl Who Survived: The Alina Thompson Story premieres Saturday, Sept. 20 at 8/7c on Lifetime and streams the next day.
DWTS Star Robert Irwin Explains How He’s Maintaining Dad Steve’s Legacy
“Dancing with the Stars” star Robert Irwin has been explaining how he’s keeping the legacy of his father, the beloved Steve Irwin, alive.
Robert, a zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter, just like his dad, wowed audiences with his dance on the Tuesday, September 16, opening episode of season 34 of “Dancing with the Stars.” Judge Bruno Tonioli said it was “Great,” while his fellow adjudicator Derek Hough called it “Probably the best first dance I have ever seen on this show.”
Following on from his impressive dancing debut, which scored him 15 points out of 20 and placed him joint-top of the first week leaderboard, Robert has been speaking to E! News about his performance, and how he’s continuing Steve’s important work.
Robert Irwin ‘Needs a Nap’ After His 1st Dance on ‘Dancing With the Stars’
Interviewer Will Marfuggi sat down with Robert and his professional partner, Witney Carson, and he began by asking the Australian, 21, how he was feeling the day after his brilliant first dance on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Robert said, “The adrenaline is still coursing through me at this point.” He continued, “I’m just starting to come down off of it and, I’m like, I need a nap!”
Footage was then shown of Robert and Carson receiving their scores of 8 from Hough and 7 from Tonioli, and Marfuggi asked if the table-topping score was causing Robert to feel any pressure moving forward on the show.
Robert responded in typically positive fashion, saying, “I feel pressure, but I say this all the time, I didn’t coin the phrase, but pressure is a privilege.”
Further footage was then shown of a young Robert with his father, prompting Marfuggi to ask what Steve would think of the man Robert has turned into. Robert replied, “A lot of people often ask me, it must be tough, you know, every day you’re reminded of your dad. That must be hard. And I say, really, it’s not, it’s actually one of the greatest joys of my life.”
Robert then went into how he can keep Steve’s legacy alive.
Robert Spoke of Keeping His Dad’s ‘Sense of Passion and Enthusiasm’ Going
Robert told Marfuggi, “If I can keep his sense of passion and enthusiasm, and his work as an environmental advocate, if I can keep that alive and thriving into a new generation, I’ve done my job.”
He then found humor in the fact that he’s doing exactly that in a way he never thought possible on “Dancing with the Stars.” Robert added, “And I never expected in a million years that I’d be able to do that through dance. I don’t know what Dad would say if he were here, but I think he’d be pretty stoked.”
Marfuggi and Carson then collectively asked Robert, since they were on the topic of passing things down, if Steve had been a good dancer. Robert emphatically answered, “Mum said he had like the furtherst thing from any semblance of rhythm. It was unbelievable.”
Robert will be hoping to maintain his high standards on “Dancing with the Stars” into the second week. “One-Hit Wonders Night” takes place on September 23, when he and Carson will be performing a Tango to Junior Senior’s “Move Your Feet.” We wish them the best of luck.
