Soaps' Fave Lesbian Mom Returns to Pine Valley; 'patron saint of gay soap characters'

viewers from all walks of life united around bringing a baby back to her lesbian mother

TV Guide and AfterEllen are reporting "Eden Riegel Returns to All My Children!"

Hallelujah! All your fervent prayers for the return of the patron saint of gay soap characters have been answered.

Daytime Emmy winner Eden Riegel is going back to All My Children as Bianca Montgomery, the iconic role she played from July 2000 to February 2005. Riegel has briefly revisited her ABC soap three times since Bianca relocated to Paris. However, she has just signed a longer-term contract with AMC.

"I am thrilled to have Eden return to All My Children," executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers said in a statement. "She continues to be a cherished member of this talented ensemble. Bianca's presence enriches the canvas, and we all look forward to having her back home."

Especially insightful:

TVGuide.com: How unique she is. Soaps are supposed to cater to "mainstream" America, but a gay woman is Pine Valley's most decent, moral citizen.

Riegel: Yes, it's funny that Bianca is supposedly on the fringes of society, and yet she's the one keeps others morally in check.

During the baby-switch saga, [ABC Daytime chief] Brian Frons mentioned, "Isn't it amazing that the whole country -- viewers from all walks of life -- have united around bringing a baby back to her lesbian mother?"

With all the controversy about gay parents and all that stuff, people were universally opposed to this lesbian heroine being apart from her child. It's wonderful. People are a lot more tolerant and understanding when you put a human face on it.

Let's hope this time Bianca gets to actually have a real girlfriend and a real relationship. Fans (known as BAM-fans*) are especially keen that it's longtime-love Maggie (Elizabeth Hendrickson) who also left the show around the same time as Riegel in 2005 when both moved to the west coast to try their hands at Hollywoodland and pilot season.

Riegel goes back to work at All My Children on Sept. 12; she first airs on Oct. 11.

(*BAM = Bianca and Maggie), soaps, daytime TV, soap fans, lesbians on TV, gay characters, gay parents, lesbian moms, gay marriage