In exciting news for The Bold and the Beautiful fans, Matthew Atkinson will be returning to the series to reprise his role as Thomas Forrester over a year since he exited the soap in July 2024.

As confirmed by People, Atkinson will step back into the role portraying the only son of Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and Taylor (Rebecca Budig). His first episode is expected to air in early September, where viewers will see the popular character rejoining the family business, Forrester Creations.

Atkinson also teased his return on Instagram on Tuesday (August 11), sharing a video of himself playing corn hole on the studio lot where the long-running daytime drama is filmed. When the actor turned the camera to show his face, a sign for The Bold and the Beautiful was visible in the background.

“Second time’s a charm,” he captioned the post.

Fans quickly flooded the comments section with excited reactions, with one user writing, “I hope this means you’re coming back to Bold and Beautiful, you have been missed. We need a Thope reunion!”

“Please let this mean you’re coming back! We need you!” said another.

“They need you back I hope this is why you’re there ❤️🙏,” another added.

Another wrote, “Don’t tease us, Matthew. It’s been a rough year for fans of Thomas and Thope and Douglas.”

“YAY this must be great news – Thomas is coming back?!” said one fan.

“Are you coming back? We NEED some excitement 😂,” asked another.

“Soooooo does this mean I have a reason to tune in again?” added one viewer.

“I hope Thomas is coming back❤️❤️❤️❤️🔥🔥🔥🔥,” said another.

Atkinson took over the role of Thomas from Pierson Fodé in 2019 before departing the CBS soap in 2024. Before joining B&B, Atkinson starred in another CBS daytime drama series, playing Austin Travers on The Young and the Restless from 2014 to 2015.

He first exited B&B in March 2024 after Thomas’ marriage proposal to Hope (Annika Noelle) was rebuffed, leading to him moving to Paris with his son, Douglas. His character then returned in June, revealing he was engaged to Paris Buckingham (Diamond White). He departed again the following month.

“I just never expected the response that I’ve gotten and we’ve gotten from the fans, especially [with] Thomas leaving,” Atkinson told Soap Opera Digest at the time of his exit. “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.”

Are you excited for Atkinson’s return? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.