Jen Lilley joins DAYS cast

Jen Lilley joins DAYS cast

Days of our Lives has hired actress Jen Lilley. Lilley filled in for former DAYS star Kirsten Storms as Maxie Jones on General Hospital. Could Lilley now be assuming Storms' old role on DAYS?

Former General Hospital player Jen Lilley has joined the cast of Days of our Lives.

Over the weekend, DAYS star Greg Vaughan (Eric Brady) spilled the beans in a post on Twitter that Lilley was "DAYS newest addition." The actor did not elaborate on what role Lilley had been hired to play.

Lilley took to Twitter to do damage control, noting that she was "just visiting" her friend, Melissa Reeves (Jennifer Horton). Lilley added "maybe one day, though."

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Now, however, NBC has confirmed that Lilley has, in fact, joined DAYS's ranks.

"It's officially announced! Man, it was hard not to tell you guys," Lilley mused after the announcement was made.

Lilley stepped into the role of Maxie Jones on General Hospital after DAYS alum Kirsten Storms (ex-Belle Black) was sidelined for medical reasons. Though Lilley was only slated to appeared for a few weeks, the actress' run lasted from September 2011 through August 2012.

As her time at General Hospital went on, Lilley found herself the subject of repeated verbal attacks by fans who blamed her for Storms's downtime. In an unprecedented move, Lilley took to social media to defend herself, something that drew support from numerous other daytime stars.

Lilley also appeared on Soap Central Live in March 2012 to talk about her experience, and to allow fans the chance to get to know her as a person. In the revealing interview, Lilley admitted to having two unusual fascinations: power tools and cake pans. To hear the complete interview with Lilley, click here.

Since Lilley exited General Hospital last year, fans have been urging Days of our Lives to cast Lilley as Belle for some time, a somewhat ironic suggestion because Storms played that role from 1999 to 2004. Also of note is that Vaughan's Eric is Belle's half-brother.

Soap Opera Digest reports that Lilly has been reporting for work for more than a month and that her new role is not a recast. The magazine does not, however, reveal what role the actress will be playing.

Days of our Lives' frenetic production schedule has the show taping scenes more than three months ahead of their scheduled airdate. If that holds, viewers might not see Lilley on-screen until June.

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