News
Robert Newman’s First Airdate as Y&R’s Ashland Locke Revealed
Get ready to welcome back one of soap opera’s all-time favorites, when Guiding Light alum, Robert Newman (Ex-Joshua Lewis) joins the cast of The Young and the Restless on-air on the upcoming Wednesday, February 9th episode of the top-rated daytime drama.
Newman will take over the role of business tycoon Ashland Locke previously played by Richard Burgi,
CBS has released this first look photo of Robert in a scene with Ashland’s on-screen lady love, Amelia Heinle (Victoria Newman Locke).
Robert spend 28 years on Guiding Light and throughout his career has appeared in motion pictures, television and on the stage in various roles including: House of Cards, Chicago Fire, Homeland, Criminal Minds, NCIS, and Law and Order: SVU, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Dracano, and the short film Deadline.
The actor’s Off-Broadway Credits include: Perfect Crime, She’s of a Certain Age, Sessions: the Musical, and Quiet on the Set.
So will you be tuning-in next week to see Robert back on CBS daytime and as the new Ashland Locke? Comment below.
Good news. Josh Griffith’s writing has me taking a mini break from actual viewing (I keep up via soap blogs.) But, Robert Newman joining the cast has piqued my interest.
Not watching until JG is gone ! Show sucks !
Maybe the change in actor will signal the change starting to emerge in Locke. Well, not a change but a less-hidden dark side will emerge. Hopefully that will make the megalomaniac Victoria realize her real enemy is not Adam and her relentless, sadistic treatment of her brother is appalling. I’ve really grown to despise her.
Soaphound…I always sensed Ashland had a hidden agenda, and has been playing everyone in the name of alpha, dominance. And so has Victor been suspicious of him.. Takes one to know one. This is when I like him meddling. But not how he treats is kids in his business gamesmanship. All in the name of protecting his family. And Victoria is behaving like a b**ch.
sadly, the show is not watchable, boring characters no storyline of interest
Sorry but cannot see him as Ashland as much as I like the actor.
Jacqueline,
I feel exactly the same way, hope we’re wrong. Wouldnt it be hilarious if on Newman’s first day someone remarks that his treatment must be really working, as he looks like a new man!
Thanks! My laugh of the day. It could work if done subtly.
Did Robert bring some writers with him?
Yes, I will watch. From the beginning it was clear Ashland could go either direction, but for one receiving cancer treatment and pronounced as dying, there were few scenes with indications of his disease or treatment residuals. Yes, Victoria is becoming her father. It may be awfully unpleasant, but “she” the actress is giving us a wonderful performance!
It has been rather dull recently, but I enjoy that some couples actually seem happy.
However, something is missing in the scripts. Some of the new players are rather pleasing: Noah, Chance, Faith and her friend. Yet some of the regulars appear to be just hanging around and aging with nowhere to go.
Was thinking of taking a break from watching but looks like Ashland is coming under scrutiny — yes, I will watch.
Hi, Tani—-it’s been a while….hope all is well.
Yes, I agree. I have said from the onset that there is something very shady about Ashland—I never believed he was sick, and I said so.
I think his failing health was a complete set-up to arrive at exactly where he is—Infiltrating both the Newman family and its business holdings and then some. He manipulated Victoria—but not Victor.
What is very abhorrant to me is the fact that Victor, as suspicious as he was of Ashland, went as far as seeing his own daughter capitulate and fall into the devil’s fiery trap. Allowing Victoria to marry this guy is reprehensible—unless Victoria is in on it!! If that’s the case, that’s even more crudely disgusting and without integrity. She sold her body for power and finalcial gain. Isn’t there a word for that? LOL.
To add insult to injury, Burgi was replaced by a hefty, robust hulk. It sort of defeats the purpose of the intended scope. This nu-Ashland is far from looking like the cancer patient having gone through the ordeal of chemotherapy etc.
I loved Robt. Newman’s first day, especially how he put Adam in his place. I also think that being very good looking, he’s formidable as well. I hope he doesn’t become a Shmuk, so I am keeping all good thoughts.
Violet Lemm
Iam still liking our new Ashland but I really don’t want to lose him if and when Victor finds out that he’s a fraud. Why would he take this role if he and Y&R both knew it was just the beginning of the end for this character?
Beyond the Gates
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.

Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.

Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
General Hospital
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Breaking News
‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
Days of our Lives long-running cast member James Reynolds revealed on the November 10 edition of Entertainment Tonight that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his character of Abe Carver will now be going through an on-screen Parkinson’s battle as well.
Speaking with ET’s Nischelle Turner, the 80-year-old actor and Daytime Emmy winner shared how he attempted to hide the warning signs dating back to 15-20 years ago when he would have, “What they call the hallucinations. My wife (Lissa) would say, ‘You were hitting me last night in bed,’ and I would say, ‘What?!’ I was having these really horrible dreams.” Reynolds also added that he realized falling out of bed was an early symptom of Parkinson’s too.
Discussing the on-going tremors that have become more noticeable over time especially in hands, James shared that when he finally told the Days of our Lives cast they were nothing but “extraordinarily helpful and supportive.”

Photo: ET
SCREEN LIFE TO MIRROR REAL LIFE
Now with DAYS about to launch into Abe’s Parkinson’s storyline, Reynolds hopes that he can turn his experience into something positive by encouraging others facing the disease to keep fighting. During the sit-down, Reynolds co-star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) recalls her reaction to learning of Reynolds’ real-life diagnosis and how she has continued to search for new treatments to inform James about.
Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are medications and treatments can help those manage symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition progresses at a different pace from individual to individual.
As discussed in his conversation with ET, Reynolds cited Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda as two high-profile celebrities who have brought awareness to the disease.

Photo: JPI
In story on DAYS, Abe in recent weeks had been experiencing tremors which led to seek help and a diagnosis Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans). Soon Abe and others will find out of his battle with Parkinson’s. Although on the promo for this week’s DAYS, Abe is seen telling Kayla, that he will do something, “when the time is right.”
James Reynolds is one of the most prolific performers, being the longest-running Black Actor in a role on a television series, not to mention his aforementioned Lead Actor Daytime Emmy win in 2018, and being inducted in 2025 into the Daytime Emmy Gold and Silver Society of honorees.
You can check out James’ in-depth conversation on his Parkinson’s diagnosis below.
Share your thoughts for James after learning of his health battle, and what do you think of Days of our Lives incorporating the disease into Abe Carver’s Salem storyline? Let us know in the comment section.
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