‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ Fan Favorite Matthew Atkinson Teases Return to Soap

The Bold and the Beautiful alum Matthew Atkinson teased he could be set to make a return to the long-running soap.

Posting to Instagram on Monday, August 11, the actor, 36, shared footage of himself playing corn hole on the lot where The Bold and the Beautiful is filmed. In the background, the show’s distinctive title could be seen on a sign.

Atkinson did not confirm he was on set to film new scenes during the post. Instead, he cryptically captioned the Instagram post, “Second time’s a charm.”

Fans wondered whether the actor was simply referencing his corn hole game, or whether the post is a not-so-subtle hint that Atkinson’s character, Thomas Forrester, will soon be back in town.

Flocking to the comments section, B&B fans were desperate to know if the fan favorite would be back, urging him to confirm if it was the case.

“Are you employed with the show again? Let me know so i can care about bold again,” wrote one follower, with another begging, “Please let this mean you’re coming back! We need you!”

Echoing the sentiment, another soap fan commented, “Miss that handsome face.. I hope you come back to B&B as you can see, you have many fans that want you to come back. The story line is getting boring and everyone talks about the same thing. You and Hope kept it alive!! Come back!! ❤️❤️❤️”

Atkinson joined the CBS series back in 2019, taking over the Thomas Forrester role from his predecessor, Pierson Fodé.

His last onscreen appearance on the show took place in July 2024. While Atkinson’s departure from The Bold and the Beautiful was never officially announced, he scrubbed all mention of the soap from his Instagram bio in November, according to Parade. The actor also did not appear in the show’s new opening the following month, leading to speculation he was gone for good.

Speaking to Soap Opera Digest in June 2024 following an earlier break from the show, Atkinson recalled some of the show’s fans having strong emotions when he first left temporarily.

“I just never expected the response that I’ve gotten and we’ve gotten from the fans, especially [with] Thomas leaving,” Atkinson told the outlet. “I can’t speak for all the fans, but there’s a wealth of people that are either really, really upset that Thomas is gone for a period or really sad. [They] reach out and they’re like, ‘Hey, when are you back? When are you back? When are you back?’”

He added: “That just speaks to their care for this character. And that means a lot to me because I would have fun doing this in a vacuum, but it’s really great to have a response that shows that these people care about what you’re doing. And so it’s just been so much love from so many fans that comes out in so many different ways.”