Kim Coles Reveals Why Returning to DAYS Was So Special

After her brief run as unstable nurse Whitley King in 2023, Kim Coles was thrilled when Days of Our Lives came calling to have her reprise the role for an unexpected reveal.

In the episode that premiered on Feb. 5, Whitley was revealed to be the one behind all the sabotage at her favorite soap, Body and Soul!

“It was such a great experience,” Coles told TV Insider of her 2023 storyline where Whitley kidnapped an amnesiac Abe.

“The people are awesome to work with and to be welcomed and given the tools so that I could succeed, I fell in love with the process and was praying that they would bring me back.”

The actress, who is best known for her work in comedy series like In Living Color and Living Single, wasn’t sure she would be able to handle the pace of a soap, but took on the challenge and succeeded.

“The way sitcoms are shot is completely different from the way that soaps are done,” Coles said. “And do have those new tools in my tool belt is delicious.

To come back and play something so dramatic and pivotal to the lives of others made me feel like, ‘Oh, I can do anything.’”

What made the experience of appearing on DAYS even more special for her was that it introduced her to a whole new group of fans. “It’s my favorite moment, and I hope I don’t start to cry,” Coles confided.

“So, for years it’s been, ‘Hey, you’re that girl from In Living Color.’ ‘Hey, aren’t you Synclaire James from Living Single?’ ‘Hey, you’re Kim Coles.’

But there was one time my boyfriend and I were in the grocery store and for the first time someone said, ‘Hey, my daughter just said you’re the girl from the Days of Our Lives.’

I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve made it to the big time,’ because for the first time in years, it was a new recognition.

“I said, ‘Yeah, I am from Days of Our Lives,’” she continued. “She was like, ‘Wow, what else have you done?’

I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, you have no idea that there’s a whole other career and this person’s daughter recognized me from this instead of anything else.’

It was quite a delight and I felt like, ‘Now I have arrived.’ This is my 40th year in show business, so to be in this business and to have something new, I’m so grateful.”