A very familiar face appeared in the latest preview at the end of Friday’s episode of Bold and Beautiful — Matthew Atkinson is, once again, back as Thomas Forrester! The character made a brief return in September of this year, but it looks as though Thomas has returned to the fold and is ready to get back to work at Forrester Creations.
Back in Business
Ridge and Taylor’s son was born back in 1998 and was played by a series of twins and child actor Patrick Dorn before Thomas was aged into a young man played by Drew Tyler Bell beginning in 2004. After his exit in 2010, Adam Gregory took over the role until 2014. Then, Pierson Fodé stepped in to play Thomas from 2015-17, returning for a brief run in spring 2018. Atkinson, who had previously played Austin Travers on Young and Restless, joined the cast of B&B in March 2019 as the newest Thomas.
After his exit in March 2024, he visited in June and July. Speaking to Soap Opera Digest in advance of that comeback, Atkinson marveled, “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?’
“That just speaks to their care for this character,” he continued. “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.”
He next returned in September 2025. Fans learned that Thomas’s engagement to Paris had ended, but it wasn’t his own love life that he was focused on: Thomas was excited that his parents were going to remarry, only to discover that Ridge was breaking things off with Taylor to marry Brooke once again. Although Thomas initially lashed out at Brooke, blaming her for tearing his family apart, Ridge talked his son down, and Thomas even apologized to her and accepted the marriage.
Now that Thomas is back again, he looks ready to resume his place at Forrester, especially with Ridge now in control of the company. Thomas’s own relationship with Paris hit the skids, but it’s unlikely he’ll have any success trying to rekindle things with Hope now that she’s just recently become Mrs. Liam Spencer. Let us know your thoughts on Thomas’s return and predictions on what he’ll do next in the comments!
