Donna Mills Threatened To Leave Knots Landing Over This One Storyline

From "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" to "General Hospital," Donna Mills is a legend of the soap opera world. Of course, the role that arguably gave her that title more than any other was Abby Cunningham on "Knots Landing." Not only did she star — and stun — on the show for the entirety of the 1980s (which accounts for most of its original run), but Mills is still an absolute knockout decades after the fact. However, the actor very nearly quit "Knots Landing" prematurely. And, according to Mills, it all had to do with one storyline that she simply couldn't go through with as originally written.

The soap star's original tenure on "Knots Landing" lasted from 1980 to 1989. At about the halfway mark, though, some tension emerged between Mills and the show's writers. It had to do with the Season 6 storyline involving the crooked Dr. Ackerman (Laurence Haddon) stealing Val Ewing's (Joan Van Ark) twin babies. The writers' original plan was for Abby to be the culprit behind the abduction instead, which Mills was none too pleased about.

During an appearance on "That's Classic!" in August 2026, she recalled telling "Knots Landing" creator David Jacobs, "David, if you don't want me on the show anymore, go ahead with the storyline the way it is because the audience will not forgive me for that." Mills argued that, given how Abby was a mother herself, stealing someone else's babies was a line the character wouldn't cross. "That's her one vulnerability," she pointed out.

In the end, the writers of "Knots Landing" heeded Donna Mills' warning, and scrapped their plans to reveal Abby Cunningham as the mastermind behind the infant kidnapping in Season 6. As the "Melrose Place" star confirmed during her "That's Classic!" interview, "They listened to me, and there were innuendos that I had done it or whatever. But in the end it came out that it wasn't me." Eventually, though, Mills departed "Knots Landing" regardless. However, her exit at the end of Season 10, in 1989, had nothing to do with creative differences between the actor and the show's writers. Rather, Mills felt that her time on "Knots Landing" had simply run its natural course. 

"I had been playing Abby for nine seasons on CBS, and I had reached a point where I needed new roles and new challenges," the beloved '80s soap diva reasoned during a chat with TV Guide in 1989 (via KnotsLanding.net). "I could have played her forever but it was just time to let her go and say goodbye," she added. Mills did briefly return to "Knots Landing" for the show's 1993 series finale. She also later reprised her role as Abby in the 1997 sequel limited series "Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac."

The actor has also gone on record that she would gladly return to the role again in the future, should the opportunity present itself. "I would give anything to play her again," Mills confessed to the Daily Beast in 2022, adding, "I would do 'Knots Landing' again in a nanosecond. Absolutely." In other words, the soap star doesn't appear to harbor any resentment over the show's original plans for her beloved character.