The Bold and the Beautiful’s Ashley Jones' thriller of a Lifetime is going to terrify you — and it should

Fans of The Bold and the Beautiful’s Ashley Jones have been anxiously awaiting the premiere of her newest project, but Jones’ killer instincts will have viewers rocked to their core when they see what she produced.

The Bold and the Beautiful’s Ashley Jones’ new thriller

In their first-ever interview together, Ashley Jones and Alina Thompson spoke with Soap Central today to discuss the movie, The Girl Who Survived: The Alina Thompson Story. Jones, who fans adore as Dr. Bridget Forrester on CBS’ The Bold and the Beautiful, is an executive producer of the film and also plays Nancy Thompson, Alina’s mom.

Jones got the idea for the movie when out for dinner with Thompson and her partner, Pierre David, with whom Jones has produced other projects. While at a dinner party at Spago restaurant in L.A. last May, Thompson recognized models at the table next to them and began talking and reminiscing about their early modeling days. Jones overheard their conversation about their connection to serial killer William Bradford, and turned to David to say, “I think there’s a movie here.” Jones went home and took a deep dive into Bradford, and within just a year, the story was pitched to Lifetime, written, cast, and filmed.

The Alina Thompson Story

In 1984, when Thompson was a teen, she wanted to be a model and began attending photographer events in the L.A. area. Young girls would go in hopes of getting discovered, while aspiring photographers would take their photos on various sets and stages.

Thompson attended the photo shoots with her parents. To keep their daughter safe, her father would bring his camera and pretend to be one of the photographers, so as not to appear as a hovering dad. Luckily, Carl Thompson was there when Bradford lured his daughter into an alley away from the others to take photos, and he intervened. But what Thompson and her father didn’t realize in the moment was that Bradford’s car was right there — and that he had been stalking Alina Thompson.

Twenty years after Bradford’s murder convictions for just two of his likely dozens of victims, the police posted a plea to the public. They published photos of girls, asking if anyone knew whether or not they were alive. Thompson’s father saw the poster and began to cry as he recognized three of the photos were of his daughter.

When the police brought over the box of pictures of Thompson to their home, it was then that she realized the photographer had taken more photos of her than just at the weekend photo shoots. “He had been stalking me for two years,” Thompson explained. They then recalled the day in the alley and were sure that she was meant to be taken that day, and probably would have been killed. The realization of how close she had come to death changed her forever.

As mothers, Jones and Thompson hope that the movie's message resonates with viewers about the dangers out there for their children, serving as a reminder to be vigilant.

“If we all wanted [the movie] to give one message, it’s to just be sure you’re aware of what’s going on in your kids’ lives,” Jones said. Thompson agreed wholeheartedly. She said there are so many sociopaths and worse out there targeting young people, who think they are just nice or helpful people when they are actually predators. “If one person avoids that kind of fate, then me telling my story was worth it a hundred percent,” Thompson added.

Thompson also says telling the story is an ode to her father, who she credits for saving her life. In the movie — just like in real life — Thompson’s father gives her sound advice: “‘No’ is a full sentence,” he said. Through the movie, Thompson hopes his words resonate with as many others as possible.

Continuing the conversation

As Jones’ followers know, she has been an advocate and voice of Women Like Me (@womenlikeme_plm), a dedicated community within Patients Like Me. The medical sites are dedicated to helping people navigate their health journeys.

With Women Like Me, Jones is hosting live conversations on Thursday and Friday this week with experts to talk about mental health and violence against women, among other topics. She invites women to join the discussions by signing up for free through the portal.

The Girl Who Survived: The Alina Thompson Story premieres on Lifetime this Saturday, September 20th. You can see a preview in the trailer here:

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Watch The Bold and the Beautiful weekdays on CBS or stream on Paramount Plus.

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