"Passions" debuted on NBC broadcast television in 1999 with major fanfare. Creator Reilly had been credited for a large surge in the ratings for "Days of Our Lives" years before, thanks to innovative storylines like that of heroine Dr. Marlena Evans being possessed by Satan that drew new viewers, but also tended to alienate stalwart fans. With "Passions", Reilly was able to start with a blank slate and no pre-existing fan base to please. The series replaced the Procter &amp; Gamble-produced serial "Another World", which ended a 35-year run on June 25, 1999, on NBC's daytime schedule. In the early days of the show, "Passions" heroine Sheridan Crane is identified as a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales; soon Sheridan recalls speaking to Diana on the phone immediately before the 1997 car accident in which Diana was killed. Sheridan also has a similar accident in the same Paris tunnel, and speaks to a "guardian Angel Diana" who urges her to fight to survive, which drew considerable controversy. Sheridan later adopts the name Diana after a boating accident that results in amnesia.