Days of Our Lives’ Kristian Alfonso explained the bittersweet nature of Hope’s return.

The imminent return of Hope to Days of Our Lives will be bittersweet. The last time we saw Hope, Shawn shot Bo because

he inadvertently thought his dad was going to shoot his mom. Bo didn’t die but landed in a coma. And ever since then,

Hope’s been by his side. Alfonso opened up about her return and her excitement about being back in Salem.

She Was Glad to Be Included

Alfonso told Soap Opera Digest she was a little dismayed that she didn’t have scenes with Hope’s onscreen father, Doug, who was played by the late Bill Hayes. “I will never get over that I didn’t get the opportunity [to play that],” she stated. “Because I would have had scenes with Bill and Susan together as a family. So that, I am very sad about.”

Doug’s death will happen on screen. And when the show contacted Alfonso about reprising Hope for his funeral, she immediately said she would come back. Feeling that they could have easily written into the story that Hope was elsewhere, Alfonso was glad to be included, remarking, “I knew how difficult it would be, but I was very happy and elated that they reached out to me to include me since I was no longer on the show.”

READ THIS: Take a peek at what’s in store for DAYS.

He Was a Major Part of DAYS

Alfonso continued to explain that the audience will get to see Hope’s reaction when she receives word that Doug died, and she’s happy about that because “He was such a huge part of the show.” When she returned to the set, she and Susan Seaforth Hayes  — Doug’s wife and her step-mom, Julie — immediately embraced.

“Susan is a true, beautiful warrior,” Alfonso explained, noting that it was doubly difficult for Hayes because Bill was her real-life husband, and continued, “She really and truly is, to live this loss off camera and then come to work and have to live it again on camera.” She praised Hayes for her performance that paid tribute to both Bill and Doug.

Alfonso also teased that there may be some information about Bo’s (Peter Reckell) status, and viewers just need to stay tuned to find out what that is.