DC would have surely agreed to almost anything in lieu of giving anyone a raise!!
But seriously, as Uncle Roger mentioned, not just the DS actors but all soap actors did/do other things during their time on their shows. Almost all of the DS actors did films and/or especially plays - and it had nothing to do with whether their characters might not have been as popular or the actors themselves were frustrated. It was simply common practice, even while juggling both the show and the outside work at the same time. A list of what the DS actors did while also on the show could fill a topic in and of itself. In fact, one often has to wonder how so many of them had so much stamina to do DS during the day
and something else at night. That's real dedication to their craft!