In a surprise casting decision, Days of our Lives newcomer Natalia Livingston has been let go from the role of Taylor Raines. The show has announced that character will be taken in a new direction. As a result, the NBC soap has recast the role with a familiar face at Days of our Lives -- Emmy winner Tamara Braun (ex-Ava Vitali).

"It was decided to take the character of Taylor in a new direction," co-executive producer Gary Tomlin told Soap Opera Digest in a statement. "Natalia Livingston is an amazing actress and a consummate professional. She is a class act and everyone at the studio adores her."

Livingston, an Emmy winner during a five-year run as Emily Quartermaine on General Hospital, first aired on Days of our Lives on January 28, 2011. She will continue to air into April, but her successor has already reported to work.

Braun, meanwhile, is already back to work at DAYS studio, after having been away for about two-and-a-half years. Braun previously appeared as Ava Vitali on Days of our Lives from February 2008 through August 2008. Her work on DAYS earned her an Outstanding Supporting Actress win at the 2009 Daytime Emmys.

After leaving Days of our Lives, Braun joined the cast of All My Children, playing Reese Williams. Fans of that ABC soap had been holding out hope that Braun would one day reprise the role. Braun also enjoyed a four-year run as Carly Corinthos on General Hospital, for which she received a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2004.

Braun, meanwhile, begins taping scenes at Days of our Lives today. Those scenes will begin airing April 26.