The Bold and the Beautiful on
Sunday won two Daytime Emmys.
The show won in the Outstanding Drama
Series Writing Team category and Obba Babatunde won for Outstanding
Guest Performer in a Drama Series.
Babatunde plays the father of Maya
Avant (portrayed by Karla Mosley), a young woman who came out
transgender to her boyfriend Rick Forrester (Jacob Young) after a
tabloid writer threatened to out her. Rick and Maya's wedding was
the first in daytime soap history to include a transgender character.
Head writer Bradley P. Bell was asked
about the transgender storyline backstage.
“It's really trying to bring daytime
into a place where it reflects what's going on in the world today,”
Bell
said. “The transgender issue is very topical – so much to
explore. It made for a great love story.”
He said that he was expecting pushback
but it was “incredible smooth sailing.”
“Love is love and you just celebrate
it when you have it because it can very fleeting,” Bell added.
Babatunde said that having the
storyline recognized felt “sensational.”
“The beautiful thing we are
portraying is … growth and development,” he said.