Serena Scott Thomas is joining Days of our Lives as Fiona, Xander’s mother. The actress will make her debut on the show on Friday, July 19.

Mother of the Groom

The actress, whose real-life sister is Kristin Scott Thomas (an Oscar nominee for her role in the film The English Patient), told the current issue of TV Guide Magazine, dated July 15 to August 4, that “Fiona comes with her own flair, large and in charge with a twinkle in her eye.”

The actress joining DAYS was teased on the show’s Instagram account back in April. Serena Scott Thomas, the caption read, “is coming to Salem! Any guesses who her character might be?!”

Scott Thomas, a former model and commercial actress, says she’s okay with the fast-paced world of soap operas. “I really love the very little rehearsal and one take thing that is the goal with soap operas because there’s no sitting around,” she says.

The actress feels she’s not only hit the jackpot with TV son Paul Telfer, who plays Xander, but also with her other DAYS co-stars. “I love him from the moment I saw him in the corridor [at the studio] and he held out his arms and went, ‘Mum!’” Scott Thomas says. “He was so sweet, and he took me to lunch.”

As for her other castmates, Scott Thomas raves, “Linsey [Godfrey, Sarah] is just a doll and Suzanne [Rogers, Maggie], I adore. I want to be like her when I grew up. [Suzanne] has this wonderful sort of regal presence, but she’s very humble.

“And then, Eric [Martsolf, Brady] is so funny,” she adds. “All the actors on [DAYS] are just amazingly welcoming people and kind people. I’ve never been so happy on a set. It’s been nothing but an absolute delight.”