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Bold and the Beautiful throws Eric Forrester (John McCook) into retirement from Forrester Creations against his will, but he’s got lots more designs and inspiration still inside him. This cruel turn of events could be what brings back Thomas Forrester (Matthew Atkinson) in a big twist.

We’re going to talk about how Thomas’s return to Bold later this month may be to inspire Eric to launch a new fashion house to rival Forrester Creations.

Bold and Beautiful: Thomas Forrester Returns

First and foremost, in case you forgot, there’s a couple of very important confirmed spoilers that tie to this. First, Matt Atkinson was back taping episodes at B&B in late October, early November. And we know when he was back, they were filming Christmas episodes. So, Thomas should be back for the holidays. It’s confirmed.

The other very important spoiler confirmed by Brad Bell is that a rival fashion house is going to rise soon on B&B. It could be that these two spoilers coincide. It would be amazing if Thomas was back for good and he returned to work with Eric. So, let’s talk about how that could go.

Ridge’s Betrayal: Eric Forrester’s Forced Retirement

Right now, Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) claims he’s looking out for his dad’s best interest, but springing a forced retirement in the form of a surprise party was a pretty terrible thing to do. Eric tried to reason with him. He tried to change Ridge’s mind, but he couldn’t. And so, he just had to walk away. Eric told Donna Logan (Jennifer Gareis) he doesn’t feel like he’s done yet, that he’s really coming into his own and is in this new phase of his creativity as a designer.

Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) even said the collection that Eric designed is the most incredible work she’s seen. At least Ridge has realized that springing a surprise retirement party was a bad idea, but he’s not backing down. He still wants Eric out of there. For the moment, Eric is taking what Ridge did really hard. And Eric feels like he’s got no recourse and is going to be stuck playing pickleball with Donna and going on Royal Caribbean cruises, right?

A Holiday Twist: Will Thomas Forrester Champion Eric’s Cause?

But this holiday season, a visit from family could change everything for Eric. He is quite frustrated with Ridge, but Eric doesn’t have enough votes to fight back at Forrester Creations, not with Steffy siding with Ridge because Finn (Tanner Novlan) told her that Eric should retire for his health.

Now, she does have his best interest at heart. What’s clear is that this stunt that Ridge pulled is partly about Eric’s health, but it’s also partly because Ridge said it’s his time to take over and take center stage. That’s going to trigger the next big umbrella story that’s coming to The Bold and the Beautiful starting in early 2026.

Bold and Beautiful: Ridge Rules?

With Thomas confirmed back for holiday episodes and knowing the Forresters are doing Christmas at Eric’s house, obviously, Thomas is going to be there talking to Eric about this forced retirement. Even if Ridge told Thomas that he thinks it’s the best thing, that doesn’t mean that he agrees with his dad. We also know Ridge has forced Thomas out of Forrester Creations in the past over personal issues, usually with Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang), that had nothing to do with his design work. It was always personal stuff. Whether you agree with what Thomas did or not, it had nothing to do with his job.

So, I’m guessing that Thomas may commiserate with Eric about what Ridge did to him. Thomas may say, “You know, Ridge has forced me out in the past as well.” So, I don’t think Thomas is going to be too happy seeing his grandpa Eric all depressed. He may show Thomas his designs. You know, Steffy was already wowed by them. So, Thomas is going to be like, “Whoa, these are amazing. These can’t stay unmade. They have to be shown to the world.”

Forging a New Dynasty: A Rival Fashion House in the Making

It could be that Thomas either directly suggests to Eric that he start his own design house, or maybe talking to Thomas inspires Eric to come up with the idea to start a rival house. But what would be really incredible is if Thomas comes back to start it with Eric. That way we’d get Matt Atkinson back to Bold and the Beautiful. But it wouldn’t be a Thomas storyline that’s about him with Hope Logan (Annika Noelle). Instead, it could be a Forrester versus Forrester, father versus son thing with Eric, Thomas, and Ridge all in the mix.

Even though Thomas played nice on his last return and gave Brooke his blessing, he is probably still annoyed that Ridge broke his mom Taylor’s (Rebecca Budig) heart. I just think it’s that Thomas has realized that he can’t blame Brooke for it. I mean, clearly, Ridge is to blame for all of this. Bringing Thomas back full-time to be Eric’s design partner would be an amazing pivot for Bold and the Beautiful. Fans have been kind of worn out on this Luna Nozawa (Lisa Yamada) thing. They beat that to death, no pun intended. And most viewers are also tired of the Will Spencer (Crew Morrow) and Steffy show. So getting back to core characters and core plots revolving around fashion has got to boost ratings.

Assembling the Team: Key Players in the Forrester Rebellion

Thomas coming back to be Eric’s secret weapon would be incredible, especially if Thomas and Eric set up the fashion house and launch it behind Ridge’s back. Can you imagine the look on Ridge’s face if he found out his father Eric and his son Thomas were now his biggest rivals? I’m also expecting Katie Logan (Heather Tom) to leave Forrester Creations, too. Her feeling disgruntled and pushed aside by Ridge and Brooke is another big red flag of all this happening.

Also, Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) proposes to Katie this week. And whether she says yes or no, I am expecting a yes. They are locked in as a couple. I expect her to commiserate with Eric because they both got shoved aside by Ridge with Brooke standing there enabling his high-handed behavior. So with Eric and Katie out and Bill looking to punish Ridge for doing his darling Katie dirty, everything is lining up to split the character canvas in half in a big business storyline. Bill can finance Eric’s fashion house, and Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton) can make sure their publication Eye on Fashion heavily promotes it.

Katie can be the new CEO of this fashion house so that Eric can focus on designs. Katie was the CEO of Forrester at one point, so that works. And if Eric brought Thomas back to town secretly to be his co-designer, that’d be amazing. I could also see others defecting from Forrester Creations to join the rival house, like Ivy Forrester (Ashleigh Brewer), and Will Spencer. It would also be absolutely stunning if Thomas was a part of all this.

A Fan-Favorite Returns: The Future of Thomas Forrester on B&B

Plus, a lot of fans really want Matt Atkinson back to Bold and the Beautiful for good. And let’s be real, if Thomas wasn’t chasing Hope around, I think even more fans would be on board with his return. A lot of fans just don’t want Thomas with Hope because of the whole ick of the Baby Beth story. Well, if that was off the table, I think a ton of fans would embrace Thomas back, especially with him standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Eric to take down Ridge, with Bill Spencer there as their hype man and their financier.

So maybe Brad Bell has decided to reverse Thomas’s exit that seemed to be permanent. Maybe they’ll bring him back on contract. You know, Matt Atkinson could be back full-time in 2026 as part of this rival fashion house storyline. Imagine the shock on Ridge’s face if Eric started a competing fashion house and Thomas was right there at his side. I would be so into it.