Why Susan Seaforth-Hayes Found Filming Late Husband Bill's Death on “Days of Our Lives” to Be a 'Gift' (Exclusive)

The 'DOOL' star died in January, but his on-screen death will play out in upcoming episodes of the soap series

Days of Our Lives helped Susan Seaforth Hayes through some of the worst days of her own life.

The 81-year-old actress’s husband Bill Hayes died in January at age 98 and his final appearance on Days of Our Lives aired in July, but upcoming episodes of the soap opera, in which Hayes starred as Doug Williams, will see Doug’s death unfold.

“The show has written into the fact that he was an icon to the audience,” Seaforth Hayes told PEOPLE at the annual Days of Days fan event in Los Angeles on Nov. 2. “I appreciate the fact that they appreciated him so much. He deserved to be lifted up.”

Related: Bill Hayes' Wife Susan Remembers Late Days of Our Lives Star: 'May We All Embrace Life with the Gusto of Bill'

As Hayes’s on-screen wife Julie Williams, Seaforth Hayes played a pivotal role in her husband’s DOOL farewell.

“The experience of photographing the day he died and writing me a scene and allowing me to give the same eulogy that I gave at his real funeral, what a gift to me,” she said at the fan event, also attended by Carson Boatman, Raven Bowens, Judi Evans, Deidre Hall, Abigail Klein, Wally Kurth, Stephen Nichols, James Reynolds, Sal Stowers, Josh Taylor and Robert Scott Wilson.

While Seaforth Hayes admitted she found that scene “very difficult to do,” she also called it “very emotionally rewarding.”

“And I think the audience will experience and be uplifted,” the soap star added.

Seaforth Hayes never expected her time on the show to evolve into what it has since getting her start on Days in 1968.

“I first started coming to Burbank in 1968 as an ingenue, and now I'm a great grandmother on the show,” she said. “I started out as a bad girl, still have that little sassy quality that the writers have written to, which I appreciate. Filling the role of matriarch, of an established family is challenging, heartwarming. It's a long and a very gratifying experience.”

Seaforth Hayes said that “every important part of my life” had something to do with the show, including, of course, meeting her husband of 50 years on the series when they filmed a love scene together in 1970.  “It's a strange and wonderful experience,” Seaforth Hayes continued.

Seaforth Hayes has previously credited Days of Our Lives with keeping her going following her husband’s death.

‘“The show has kept me alive, and Ken [Corday, executive producer] has been exceedingly sweet,” she told TV Insider in July. “And Ron Carlivati, our head writer, has asked me, ‘What do you think Julie is feeling?’ And I answered and he has created scenes that work that way, which has been very gratifying, very lovely.”

Related: Days of Our Lives' Susan Seaforth Hayes Opens Up About Life After Losing Husband Bill Hayes

It also presented a new challenge for her. “I haven’t had the stress of doing anything alone, really, and now I will have to,” Seaforth Hayes said.

Last month, Seaforth Hayes shared one of those moments without the late actor on Instagram, posted a solo shot of her at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game.

“A night of Dodger Baseball Wish Billy was here 💙 Wish you were here, too,” Seaforth Hayes captioned the Sept. 21 photo, adding hashtags “#DodgerBaseball” and “#BillysBoys.”

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Days of Our Lives airs weekdays on Peacock.