‘Days of Our Lives’ Interview: Roark Critchlow – Former Dr. Mike Horton- Talks ‘Murder, She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery’ And ‘Rio Heat’

“Days of Our Lives” Dr. Mike Horton hasn’t been seen in Salem since 2010, but his portrayer Roark Critchlow has been very busy. Besides Roark’s role as Tom Marin on the ABC Family’s hit series “Pretty Little Liars,” Critchlow has been hard at work filming “Murder, She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery.”

Coincidentally, former “DAYS” costar Alison Sweeney [Sami Brady] directed – and also stars in – the “Murder, She Baked” series seen on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel. Roark recently spoke with Soap Opera Digest and dished on working with Sweeney.

“DOOL” fans may wonder how Roark ended up with a role in the made-for-television movie. Critchlow told Soap Opera Digest that Sweeney suggested him for the role. Apparently TPTB were having some type of difficulty finding just the right actor to portray Delores’s [Barbara Niven] boyfriend.

Alison called former “DAYS” costar Christie Clark [ex-Carrie Brady] to find out if Christie and Roark were still in contact. It snowballed from there, the producers called Critchlow, and when the actor arrived on set “they said, ‘Oh, he’s it!’ So it worked out all the way around very well,” Roark revealed to SOD.

Working with Alison again was a fantastic experience. Roark was amazed at how confident Sweeney has become as a director. Critchlow also talked about working with Barbara Niven, which was “just a dream.” While Roark and Cameron Mathison [ex-Ryan Lavery, “AMC”], who portrays Mike, didn’t have any scenes together the actors did have a chance to swap stories while being driven to the set each day.

Look for Roark Critchlow in another mystery series sometime in 2016. “Rio Heat” stars another former “DOOL” costar, Victor Webster [ex-Nicholas Alamain]. But Critchlow is tight-lipped when it comes to talking about the plot of the new series – it is a mystery after all!

Roark has another made-for-television movie on the horizon. “Pregnant at 17,” which also stars Josie Bissett [ex-Jane Mancini, Melrose Place]. And, “Days of Our Lives” fans look for Roark Critchlow in “The Layover,” which is directed by Emmy winning actor William H. Macy [Frank Gallagher, “Shameless”].

“Murder, She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery” premieres on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel on Sunday, January 10 at 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT. Set your DVRs “Days of Our Lives” fans! And then look for “Rio Heat” and “The Layover” and don’t forget to tune into “Pretty Little Liars”! Whew! Roark Critchlow is one very busy man!

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