Judge Judy's Petri Hawkins Byrd to marry B&B's Steffy and Finn

You've seen him by Judge Judy's side for 25 years. Now get ready to see Petri Hawkins Byrd as you've never seen him: soap opera wedding officiant!

With Carter's legal briefs being, um, commandeered by Quinn, the Forrester lawyer/COO/wedding officiant will be getting the day of Steffy and Finn's wedding off. So, how will the couple find someone in the metro area of thirteen million to marry them? Well, as luck would have it, a little bird will help them out.

Actually, it's more of a Byrd -- and he's not so little.

Known for the last quarter of a century as the crossword-working, car price looker-upping, and math crunching bailiff to Judy Judith Sheindlin, Petri Hawkins Byrd gets a chance to flex his acting chops this week on The Bold and the Beautiful.

Let's be honest. Everybody loves Byrd -- but we're not sure that anyone had "Byrd books B&B" on their 2021 Soap Bingo card. Even Byrd wasn't entirely sure how his cameo on B&B came to be.

"My motto is be kind to everyone and have an affable personality. A lot of people think I'm a hard-ass on TV so they don't approach me. I wasn't sure how I got the role," Byrd told TVInsider. "Later, I found out that Eva Basler (B&B's VP of Communications), whom I'd met at the Daytime Emmys one year, thought highly enough of me to recommend me for this part. I was floored but also ready to work, especially as we'd recently stopped production of Judge Judy after 25 years."

As luck would have it, Byrd doesn't just play a wedding officiant on TV -- he also marries people in real life!

"It was so easy and wonderful," Byrd said of his B&B stint. "Last October, I married a couple [in real life] who are friends of my wife and mine. I found out I could get a 'one-day pass' to become an officiator. I have to say I felt very comfortable in this role."

When the cameras were not rolling, Byrd revealed that he hung out with original B&B cast member John McCook (Eric Forrester).

"When I was taping the show, John McCook invited me to hang out in his dressing room in between scenes so I wouldn't have to walk all the way back to my room. His room has all these great photos of him and people, including Carol Burnett. He regaled me with stories about the different locales that the show has shot in over the years. I had a great time talking to him."

While Judy Sheindlin starts a new legal series, Judy Justice, for Amazon later this year, it's unclear if Byrd will be part of the series. The idea of Sheindlin having a bailiff other than Byrd -- they've appeared together in over 12,500 trials -- is unfathomable. Byrd, 62, is anxious to explore his next chapter: he sings, has a production company, and hosts an Instagram Live show with his wife, titled "Bonding with Byrd."

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Byrd's altar ego makes his appearance beginning August 5.

What do you think of Officer Byrd guest-starring on The Bold and the Beautiful? Are you glad someone other than Carter is officiating a wedding? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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