‘Days of Our Lives’ Pink-Slips Veteran Susan Seaforth Hayes

Susan Seaforth Hayes has been playing the role of Julie Williams off and on for 24 years on the popular NBC soap opera “Days of Our Lives.” But she said Thursday she’s being given a new role--as “the goodby girl.”

Hayes, 49, will leave the soap next month in what the producers are calling “a story line-dictated decision.” Hayes said she was surprised and saddened by the move.

“It’s not my decision,” Hayes said during a break in filming. “I’m not leaving because I want to. I’m being jettisoned for the good of the show, which is moving on to a new generation.”

Hayes added, “It came as quite a surprise. I was having such a wonderful time. I loved the people on the show and I loved the fans. I will miss being in contact with them.”

She started on the soap in 1968, three years after it debuted, and was one of daytime’s biggest stars during the ‘70s. She has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy four times.

This will be the second time Hayes has left the show. She departed in 1984 for five years, along with her husband, Bill Hayes, who had played Julie’s on-screen love interest, Doug Williams. She appeared during that time on the CBS soap, “The Young and the Restless.”

“A pink slip is part of the business,” Hayes said. “There are no long-lasting jobs. But this is more like a divorce.”

Hayes said that she did not know what her final scene will be, but Bill Hayes will return to the show briefly to complete her story line. When he was last seen on the show in 1984, Doug and Julie were departing on a cruise.

“We’ve always gotten a lot of fan mail asking ‘Where is Bill Hayes?’ ” she said. “Now the audience will be able to see him--at least for a couple of pages.”

In real life, Bill Hayes has been touring the world with a nightclub act, his wife said.

She said that she has not yet made plans on what to do after she leaves “Days of Our Lives”: “My feeling is that life itself is a soap opera, and I will continue to be in a soap opera.”