Interview: Paul Rauch, 'The Young and the Restless'

The soap always rises; unlike Robert Evans, the kid didn't end up in the picture but like the famed Hollywood producer, this wannabe actor found his niche by crafting the image instead.

Said kid is Paul Rauch — inarguably the most prolific and talented executive producer in soap opera history.

It’s no wonder the maverick show runner's favourite film director/producer is Stanley Kubrick.

From turning Another World into a major ratings winner with his partner-in-crime, Harding Lemay, to bringing One Life to Live into the future with his uncompromised post-modern production skills, saving Santa Barbara creatively during its final days, restoring The Young and the Restless to its former glory, Rauch’s legacy is an inspiring one — but it's still a work in progress. 

Born to Harry (a former VP at Rubicam Advertising) and Ruth Rauch (a homemaker) in Jersey City, N.J., the self-proclaimed workaholic had no idea he would be responsible for shaping the daytime-TV landscape. As a child, Rauch dreamt of starring in the pictures and on stage. But like any good soap opera, life happens when you're making other plans. You see, Rauch had a more important journey to embark on. And luckily for the soap world, he still hasn't reached his destination.

Recently,TVGuide.ca spoke with Rauch over lunch at one of his favourite Italian restaurants in L.A. to chat about the death of Guiding Light, his unrivaled career behind the camera, what it was really like working with the genre’s mother, Irna Phillips, and whether or not Victoria Rowell will ever return as Drucilla on Y&R.

(And no, no alcohol was abused in the taping of this interview.)

TVGuide.ca: Hi, Paul. So what did you think of the Emmy Awards?
Paul Rauch: I thought it was fun. In terms of entertainment, I thought it was a step up. The production was smarter. I’m also grateful they didn’t try to be comedic as in years past because that rarely works.

TVG: [Half-seriously] Not if I wrote the show! Would you ever produce the Emmy Awards? PR: That’s never crossed my mind before. That’s a very good question. Sure, why not? TVG: You produced my favourite awards show ever, The Daisy Awards on One Life to Live, so you’d be awesome. The Bold and the Beautiful's Bradley Bell won his first Emmy for producing this year's best series. PR: I’m so happy for Brad. He hasn’t won in 22 years. I thought it was great that he won. Brad was even mentioned in The New York Times! Maria Arena Bell is very thrilled for Brad.

TVG: Actors like Eric Braeden and Melody Thomas Scott were unfairly snubbed in the pre-nom rounds. Y&R could have swept the entire award season had the nominations reflected quality not popularity. Does the Emmy process piss you off?
PR: Let’s put this in simpler terms. I won the Emmy in 1975 for Another World. Since then, I have produced many shows I have been very proud of, but have never won again for a soap opera. Though I did win another Emmy for producing a TV Movie, Run The Wild Fields, for Showtime. But back to soaps, for example, at One Life we produced some fantastic, unforgettable years but we never won best drama or writing. Actually, we never won anything during those years — and we were No. 2 in the ratings. We even hit No. 1 during the Old West/1888 storyline.

TVG: 1888 remains one of my favourite all-time storylines. Your One Life reign is responsible for making me fall in love with the genre. So everyone can blame you! Recently, during one sleepless night, I watched Eterna, 1888, Viki Visits Heaven, Argentina and the trials and tribulations of Tina Lord on You Tube. PR: And those shows still hold up, right?   TVG: Yes, they do. PR: When I arrived at One Life, all the couples were in the wrong alignment. The first thing I did was hook up Viki and Clint, then segue into Viki’s dual personality, Niki, and then climax it all with Viki going to heaven to revisit her past loved ones. She had to argue the heavenly court to prove that she deserved to live and return to earth. That story brought us from eighth place to second in record time. Of course, the Old West story maintained our No. 2 position for a long, long time. Thomas Schlamme, who went on to work as a director for The West Wing, and even directed the live ER episode, helmed all those beautiful, epic shoots we did.

TVG: From a production standpoint, you single-handedly brought daytime into the future. Even General Hospital’s shoots during the Luke and Laura phenomenon weren’t as sophisticated or nearly as adventurous as yours. Does One Life remain the happiest time in your career? Or is it Another World? PR: By far, Another World was the happiest time in my career. I loved One Life, but Another World started it all for me. AW is another great example of a show that struggled in the ratings, but thanks to good, old-fashioned storytelling skyrocketed to the top of the ratings. We held on to that spot until GH hit No. 1 in the 1980s. What made AW work is exactly what Maria is doing now — putting your most popular characters/actors on the front burner. Characters like Nick, Sharon, Phyllis, Victor and Ashley need to be involved in conflict with love as the backdrop. That’s what we did with Iris, Mac and Rachel. Those three characters carried story for essentially for three years. It was through those characters and stories that took Another World to the top of the ratings. The set-up was a classic equation of the older man, the bitter daughter, and the younger woman.

TVG: Most soaps spell everything out for its viewers, which takes the fun out of playing armchair psychologist. Although AW never directly addressed it, we were all wondering — does Iris have sexual feelings for her father? That’s why the story was so riveting and addictive. When I lived New York City, I spent my weekends at the Paley Center watching that story unfold, and it will forever remain a classic in my eyes. Speaking of history, were you a soap fan growing up?
PR: No. I had watched a few when I worked at CBS around the time James Lipton acted on GL. As a result of that, I was hired by P&G. I worked for them for nine years as a supervising producer in Cincinnati for a few of their soaps — As The World Turns, GL, Search For Tomorrow and Edge of Night. I was the de facto producer for P&G. From there, I was promoted to vice-president of CBS where I oversaw nine of their soaps.

TVG: Nine. Wow. Growing up you wanted to be an actor …
PR: Yes.

TVG: That’s interesting because many soap impresarios, Harding Lemay and Douglas Marland for example, wanted to be actors, too. Why did you quit acting?
PR: I couldn’t make any money at it, that’s why! [Laughs]

TVG: Did you move out to Hollywood to pursue your acting dream?
PR: No, I only moved out to L.A. to produce Santa Barbara. I had been in L.A. only once before when I was producing a soap opera for CBS called Gross Pointe, which was supposed to replace Capitol. But then one day, Bill Bell said to CBS, “Hey, I have a show idea,” and that was the end of my show!

TVG: And now you’re producing his show, Y&R! Ironic …
PR: It’s totally ironic. But CBS did the right thing by picking the world's No. 1 soap opera, B&B.

TVG: Are you surprised at how long you’ve lasted in this industry? You look, sound, and act like one of those old Hollywood movie studio heads. Cigar, too boot!
PR: We can have cigar later … I have them in the car. But to answer your question — I love soap opera. Pure and simple. I love the process, the storytelling from a producer’s perspective, and I love the actors. Having worked as an actor, I know how to talk to them, inspire them, and help them get through difficult scenes. I speak their language. Good acting is good acting. Good writing is good writing. A good show is a good show. With my experience, I know what a good show is.

TVG: You probably love the challenge. That, and you're a glutton for punishment. There is less and less rehearsal time in daytime these days, but I hear Y&R is still rehearsing and blocking.
PR: Yes. You need to take the time before you film a scene to iron out the kinks. Most importantly, you have to ensure that the moment the writer wants to convey to the audience is communicated effectively. Whether you are a producer, actor, or director, you have to find the essence and the emotional nuance of a scene. I am on the set and in the control room from the beginning right until the end. It’s intense. Averagely from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., I’m there; I’m there for the actors. I oversee every scene we tape. I know what the writers’ intent is, so my job is to deliver their vision. If you don’t execute a script on the screen properly, your show will fail. It's that simple, really.

TVG: After all these years, where do you find the energy?
PR: From the material. I’m still excited about the medium. If you love your job, the energy comes.

TVG: The industry was surprised you returned to soaps ...
PR: Somebody said I was retired, but that never came out of my mouth. I was called by Y&R during the writers’ strike and asked if I could consult on the show, which I did. I made some recommendations before heading back to New York City. Almost immediately, I was offered a job as co-executive producer. It was an easy decision because I love Y&R and everyone who works here. I would not want to work in certain other situations …

TVG: That’s a diplomatic way to put it. What’s interesting to note is that Y&R is the highest rated soap you’ve produced. All your other soap assignments were either at the bottom of the ratings or on the brink of cancellation, but Y&R is No. 1. Must be nice, huh? PR: Yes! Even when I rejoined the team at GL 10 years ago, they were indeed on the brink of cancellation at that time. We saved that show by creating the Annie/Josh/Reva storyline. It was a phenomenal storyline. TVG: GL was on fire back then. I don’t think they ever graced as many soap opera magazines covers as they did during your tenure as chief. Also, GL never recovered artistically after you left. Cynthia Watros’s exit was also a huge blow to the show. Do you agree? PR: Cynthia was a huge loss. Huge. Are you kidding? I did everything I could to keep her on the show but she wanted to pursue other mediums and characters.

TVG: [Joking] Damn her. I hate selfish people! [Laughs] Irna Phillips created GL, which will leave the airwaves on September 18 after 72 years on air. You are one of the few people still alive and still working who knew and worked with the birth mother of the genre — what was she really like? PR: Enigmatic. As the head of CBS, I started to work with her on World Turns in the 1960s when Bill Bell was writing underneath her. She was always very specific about what she wanted to write and which characters she wanted to be on the front burner at a particular time. Jeff and Penny were favourites. And of course, Lisa and Bob were a huge success for her. Irna did not tolerate any interference in story. She dictated story to her assistant. Back then, there were no breakdowns. Irna would play all the parts out loud and her assistant wrote it all down.

TVG: Like many insane geniuses, she was socially challenged and awkward.
PR:  Once, Irna invited me to her Chicago home to see her process. I sat there watching her lay out a month’s worth of story, and in each day’s box she’d write one thread of story for her A, B, and C plots for the entire month. From those boxes, she’d write the scripts. Occasionally, she’d write a whole storyline, but it would be a very brief one with a middle, beginning, and end. She talked out the stories. In many ways, she lived her stories out loud. I was lucky to witness her process very intimately for months. Agnes Nixon basically helped her with GL, and Bill Bell lent his talents to World Turns, while she oversaw all her soaps. As you know, she trained Bill and Agnes.

I resigned from CBS because at that point I didn’t like the network's bureaucracy. Having worked with P&G for nine years prior, I went directly to Another World as executive producer even though I had never produced before. Having been a P&G/CBS vet, it was a perfect melding because I had the creative and business savvy and understanding to make it all work on both sides of the fence. At that point, P&G was a friend. There was no interference on their part. And CBS was a friend. The only interference we encountered was from Irna, who came on to help train Harding Lemay, but that didn’t work out so well and P&G fired her. Our relationship was very successful but it was also very fraught — mostly because of outside pressure and influence. As for Harding, I thought he was one of the best writers I have ever met and worked with in my entire career.

TVG: So Harding didn’t experience any interference from P&G or CBS?
PR: None. They both loved Harding and his fresh perspective on soap storytelling. P&G’s Bob Short was a wonderful man. Bob is one of the sole reasons that franchise was so successful because he let writers write. Bob was a very enlightened executive. Of course, a writer still had to write within the parameters of decency considering the TV-viewing audience at the time. Bob was like a father to me.

TVG: In 8 Years In Another World, Harding implies there were some creative differences but nothing major. His issues were more with Irna because of her black-and-white view of the world. In her mind, characters were either saints or sinners. There were no shades of grey allowed in her characterizations or stories, until Lemay came in. I believe her rigid view of the world contributed to the industry's destruction. In your opinion, what was Irna’s psychology?
PR: Irna’s belief was love stories make the world turn. For instance, on World Turns during the ‘60s, it was all love, love, and love!

TVG: Ironic since she reportedly never experienced nor found the love she wrote about or imagined, huh?
PR: No, she didn’t. She adopted two children, but to my knowledge, she never had a romantic life. Irna was originally a schoolteacher. The difficulty between Irna and Pete was that Irna wanted him to tell the stories her way, and Pete wanted to build a new temple.

TVG That’s interesting because today soaps are still fighting that deadly artistic battle.
PR: That’s why I knew Pete and Irna’s working relationship wouldn’t work. Irna liked working alone and she definitely didn’t like to compromise.

TVG: Ultimately, Harding’s postmodern and more realistic vision propelled the show to the top of the ratings. But then again she was writing a handful of soaps at one point. And today, a head-writing team consists of scribes in the double digits and yet they can’t seem to manage to write anything engaging.
PR: Back then, they were shorter soaps, but I see your point. For example, Search for Tomorrow was 15 minutes at the time. Irna really just created Another World, and left it to Agnes to write. Irna’s babies were World Turns and her prime-time spinoff, Our Private World.

TVG: You were the first producer to extend soaps from a half-hour to one hour. And then one hour to 90 minutes! You almost killed Harding! PR: Well, yeah. The hour was my idea. In 1974, the Alice/Steve/Rachel love affair was so popular that they occupied much our of airtime. So when it was announced that Steve and Alice would wed, I went to P&G and said the wedding show should be extended to an hour because we were taking America by storm. And Bob Short agreed. When the show aired in June, we doubled our rating and share in the succeeding time period, which was How To Survive A Marriage. So after that, we asked the network to permanently increase AW to an hour. Of course, it scared the hell out of all of us because no one had ever done it before. As you can imagine. In January of ‘75, we went to an hour and everyone copied us.

TVG: Do you think soaps should return to the half-hour format? There is talk that ABC may merge All My Children and One Life into two half-hour shows within the same timeslot.
PR: I don’t know. I didn’t hear that rumour. You know what? It’s not the length of a soap opera that matters, it’s the story. I’ve never had a problem filling one hour on Another World, One Life and particularly on Y&R, which has an embarrassment of riches.

TVG: Do you work alongside Maria in the writing room?
PR: No. She writes and I produce.

TVG: As it should be. On certain shows you used to oversee, producers write the story. Although One Life’s Frank Valentini allows his head writer Ron Carlivati the precious autonomy to write his own show, which is practically unheard of today. PR: I love what Frank and Ron are doing on One Life. Frank’s a wonderful producer. I hired him out of college. I love him — he’s my guy. One Life has a special place in my heart — it has good bones. I had such a great head writer, a young man named Michael Schnessel, who died. He was replete with fresh ideas 24/7. I would visit his house in Princeton, and we’d talk all weekend about story ideas for our show. I think One Life was very innovative in the 1980s. Look at our Old West story and production. It still stands up to today’s standards. I think if you can’t do it right, don’t because prime time will always do it better. We had our own Old West town in Old Tucson, Arizona to film in with hundred of extras, and longhorn cattle.

TVG: Of course, Ron and Frank have to contend with network interference, but they manage to still air an entertaining show. Does CBS interfere with Y&R?
PR: You know what — they leave us alone for the most part. CBS has been wonderful to work with this time around. I think Maria is doing a fantastic job at Y&R, and CBS sees that. You were the first journalist to pick up on that.

TVG: Well, it’s easy to detect talent when you listen to the intent and spirit behind the writing. I can tell within five minutes of a movie if the film will be good.
PR: That’s very true. It’s not hard to figure out if a writer loves their job, show and has talent.

TVG: Conversely, what did you think of GL being cancelled? For me, it died a long time ago so I wasn’t heartbroken.
PR: I was sorry it was cancelled. But I agree with you, the show died creatively a long time ago. But of course I feel for the cast and crew losing their jobs. The night before the Emmys, I went to Krista Tesreau’s GL party, so it was good to see everyone. And Grant Aleksander visited the Y&R set and we hung out for a couple of hours. We’re very good friends. And he’s a fine actor.

TVG: CBS wanted to buy the P&G soaps back in the day, but the domestic/ad empire declined. Do you think that was a wise decision on P&G’s part because it’s obvious they don’t want to be in the soap business anymore?
PR: P&G started soaps. At one point they had six soaps on the air and now they are down to one. P&G was king and the master of the soap business. When it came to their shows there was a great deal of hubris. They were proud to own their soaps which somehow transcended the years. I’m not exactly sure why a bottom-line company wouldn’t have sold to CBS unless they were making a lot of money off of them.

TVG: They're not anymore. And I'm sure they are regretting that decision because CBS wouldn't be so kill-happy if they owned their own shows. Do you think CBS would offer to buy a soap today?
PR:  No.

TVG: Do you think that P&G is purposely killing their shows artistically, at least, so they can get out of the soap business?
PR I don’t know. I stopped watching GL years ago because the show hasn't offered me anything of interest to stay loyal as a viewer.

TVG: Do you think World Turns will survive the axe this year?
PR: I hope so. I think Christopher Goutman is a good producer.

TVG: Well, you're the only one! What would Irna Phillips think of soaps today?
PR: She’d be very critical — of everything. And she’d demand to be back in the trenches to fix all of the problems. I don’t think Irna ever felt like she had any competition. At one point in the 1960s, we had a 55 share! Even when AW was 90 minutes, we were earning a 9.2. Of course, it was challenging to keep viewers tuned in for 90 minutes, but at least we had an audience at home. Today, we don’t.

TVG: It would be interesting to see how her soaps would fare in today's age. Knowing Irna, she’d probably turn her attention to prime-time TV.
PR Getting back to the intent behind writing, it would be very sad to see Irna’s legacy completely forgotten.

TVG: Her daughter, Kathy just died, too.
PR Yes, I knew Kathy and her brother Tom very well.

TVG: Everyone seems to be dying off these days. I’d love to see what kind of Irna Phillips’ memorabilia is out there. One of my dreams is to create a Soap Opera Museum.
PR: You should definitely do that.

TVG: Do you think daytime should have developed new writing talent? I mean, where would prime time and film be if they didn’t mine young, fresh talent?
PR: We need more people like you involved in this business, that's for sure. But I have always developed new talent throughout my career. When I was doing GL, I brought in a popular romance novelist who was very successful but by the end of process, she didn’t want to do it anymore. It’s a lot of work. The great thing about Maria is that, while she is a student, a fan of classic soap opera storytelling, and a Bell by marriage, she is still a young, new talent with fresh ideas. She’s a hybrid of the two worlds. I am so happy that the Bell family is still involved with Y&R.

TVG: I never understood why the Bells handed over control of Y&R to Lynn Marie Latham and CBS. It was like a bad corporate storyline on World Turns!
PR: What do you think we need to do for soaps to survive?

TVG: Well, what you are doing at Y&R is a start.
PR: Telling stories about character, for instance.

TVG: Yes. Also, I think it’s vital for soaps to represent a diverse social canvas with realistic and hip dialogue. And hire young, talented writers and directors! Look at how popular gay storylines are on soaps. Are you surprised?
PR: Definitely not.

TVG: Would Irna be surprised?
PR: Yes, because she didn’t like anything taboo. There were things you just didn’t do back then. I think a writer should be free to pen anything he or she chooses that is happening in society today — as long as there is a truth to be communicated. Any story works as long as it has heart and soul.

TVG: Do you think that the last two soaps standing will be Y&R and B&B?
PR: I hate to think about it. It's like saying there is only enough oxygen for you to breathe for another year, so you better get it all in now … that kind of thinking scares me.

TVG: I think if worse came to worse, CBS should transition Y&R into a prime-time series. Do you think that could work?
PR: I think it would. Obviously it would have to be crafted to become a prime-time soap, but I think we have the story and characters to make it work — absolutely.

TVG: Lately, there’s been a lot of discussion regarding an actor’s right to influence storyline. You’re infamous for effectively dealing with difficult actors. Heck, you fired daytime’s most popular super-couple at the time, AW's George Reinholt  and Jackie Courtney, because they were unbearable to work with. Do you think actors should just act and shut up?
PR: For a long time, George was mocking the material. For a long time, George had not only been changing his dialogue but also the dialogue of other characters! For a long time, there was a violent side to George. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when he physically went after one of our directors during dry rehearsal in the morning. So I fired him on the spot. And Jackie followed him right after. It wasn’t an easy decision because they were daytime’s first super-couple. But a super-couple can’t run or define your show. The show comes first.

TVG: So for the most part actors should just act ...
PR: When you have the acting chops like an Eric Braeden or a Melody Thomas Scott and you have a question about a storyline or scene, then I think they have every right to ask to talk to the head writer or producer. For the most part, actors do treat the material with respect — especially on Y&R. Listen, every actor at one point in their career will express doubt over the material, but it’s more on a case-by-case basis. If they are serious actors, and you respect them, and I do, you listen because sometimes they are right or can offer you an insight you never saw before. The Y&R acting company is very serious and extremely professional about their work. They always come in prepared. It’s one of the best casts I’ve ever worked with to be honest.

TVG: You’ve made many an actor a star. Andrea Evans for starters … PR: Wasn’t Andrea sensational? I just had lunch with her recently. It was too bad that stalker ended her run on One Life. Tina was Andrea’s signature role, but he was relentless. I think he damaged her career. Yes, she’s done a few other roles on other shows, but she’ll never play another character like Tina. TVG: You’ve always enjoyed a great marriage with the divas on your soaps. Kim Zimmer is another one. PR: Kim is great. What a terrific actress. From the beginning right until the end of GL, she has always been authentic in her performance. I respect her skill, talent, and her professional process. Kim has a keen sense to find the drama in the material she’s handed.

TVG: I agree. This fallacy that there are new viewers to be had is killing the genre. Just write a good show, and if you’re cancelled, then you’re cancelled. I’d rather say ‘at least we aired a kick-ass show’ and not ‘we were cancelled because our show was crap. However I do think it’s possible to attract lapsed viewers, which is why you guys hit a 4.1 last November. And you did that by writing good soap. I don’t understand why the other networks and shows aren’t copying Y&R.
PR: I know! Carolyn Hinsey recently wrote that in her Soap Opera Digest editorial. I don’t know why no one is copying us.

TVG: The industry only copies flashes in the pan or lightweight shows that elicit fleeting mainstream attention. Or bad prime-time TV shows.
PR: A network should mandate its producers and writers to figure out why Y&R has been No. 1 for decades. But I don’t think any producer or writer wants to copy another show because in the end you just end up being a copy. But back to Y&R — I have a feeling that we’ll be back in the 4.0 range this winter. We have a lot of excellent story coming up around the corner.

TVG: No one has to copy Y&R exactly but they should mirror their reverence to history, the skill, and commitment to entertaining fans each day. If you guys can get back to a 4.0, then I’d feel more hopeful about the future of the genre because that means it can be done. And a win for Y&R is a win for everyone. Someone needs to become a ratings sensation to inspire the rest of the beaten-down, depressed industry. Let’s talk Victoria Rowell. There are two actors pundits believe can boost a show’s ratings, and they are Rowell and Vanessa Marcil. I know there are backstage politics involved, but why risk the future of a show because of two or three actors’ egos? The fans want Drucilla back desperately. It would be sad for you guys to bring Rowell back when it’s too late to save the show — which may happen very soon considering you are hovering around at about a  3.0. For example, had you brought Rowell back when you hit a 4.1 — you guys wouldn’t be at a 3.3 now. You could have reached that 4.5 I'm praying you earn. When Rowell and Shemar Moore left they took almost a million viewers with them. Yes, we can’t retrieve the majority of those lost fans, but I’m sure their returns would give a you a nice boost. Is the show going to have to die because of a couple of selfish children? What would Bill Bell say to that? Dru was one of his favourite characters and Rowell was one of his favourite actresses. In the end, I’d rather say I tried everything I could to save this show. If you end up being cancelled in a few years, critics will ask 'Why didn't they bring back Rowell?' Let's compromise — why not bring Drucilla back as a ghost for a couple of episodes. Test the waters. Analyze the ratings. Then go from there. So my question to you is — if you knew an actor’s return could bring in more ratings, would you bring them back? You claim everyone on Y&R is professional ... PR: Yes. That being said, I don’t know her. I’ve heard about her history with the show and certain castmates. The decision is not mine. The decision is Maria’s.

TVG: Why should viewers tune back into Y&R?
PR: Because the stories we’re in the process of telling and are going to tell this winter are different and very exciting. Expect a lot of new stories. Our intent is to strenuously entertain our fans. And I think you can see it on screen.

TVG: Finally, do you have any regrets?
PR: No.

TVG: Why did I know you’d say that! What do you know for sure?
PR: Story is everything. Yes, execution is important, but good storyline is everything. End of story. Period. Because story is life.

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Nelson Branco is a Toronto freelance entertainment journalist, who regularly contributes to Hello! Canada, The National Post, The Los Angeles Times' theenvelope.com, TV Guide USA, tvguide.com, Inside Entertainment, OUT, and fab magazine, along with spearheading the soap coverage for TVGuide.ca's popular daytime TV hub. After graduating from Ryerson University in 1997, he moved from Toronto to New York in 1998 to take on the roles as senior news editor at Soap Opera Update. Branco first freelanced for Soap Opera Weekly as an intern in 1994, and after leaving Soap Update to help create and launch Bauer Publishing's In Touch Weekly in 2003, Branco continued to freelance occasionally for its sister publication, Soaps In Depth. Most recently, he helped create and launch Canada's first celebrity magazine, Weekly Scoop in 2005 as its news and entertainment director. Branco is also a contributor to a new TV show titled Planet Soap to air in Canada and America.