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THE EILEEN DAVIDSON INTERVIEW – THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS

On “Y&R” and its crossover “B&B” she has played Ashley Abbott on numerous occasions over the past few decades. In October of 2008, Ashley returned to Genoa City with a rekindling of the legendary Victor/Ashley romance during the show’s Paris remote. But this time under very different circumstances. Will the relationship be fully explored and be built to last?

Actress Eileen Davidson shares her thoughts on: the show’s plans for Ashley and Victor, past attempts at “B&B” for her character’s love life, working with Eric Braeden 20 years later, and what makes this Abbott a force to be reckoned with.

EileenMain11.jpgMICHAEL:

Victor and Ashley’s romance is getting another chance after several missed opportunities during the last few times you were on the “Y&R” canvas. Did you know when you came back to the show this time that a romance with Victor would be imminent?

EILEEN:

Not initially, because they approached me last April.
By summer time they told me that’s what they
were planning.

MICHAEL:

Once you were told, I’m sure you felt good about it.

EILEEN:

I felt good about coming back before. Frankly, I had mixed feelings because it’s a real tricky subject, and it all depends on how it’s handled. It seemed they were bringing them back together rather quickly, but when I realized that the whole back drop with Paris and everything, it made sense. Victor and Ashley… they are sort of thrust together by circumstance, so she is not quite sure where it’s going. I have been trying to play it like that, because what intelligent woman wouldn’t under those circumstances?

MICHAEL:

She is treading water a bit….

EILEEN:

I don’t want to have her go 100% right back in like nothing happened. She has lived a lot of lifetimes, since the last time Ashley was with Victor. And so there has to be a little trepidation. There is still a little bit of trepidation, but it’s also the feeling that she needs to figure out what this is.

MICHAEL:

Was Ashley surprised that the old feelings were there, or did she know the feelings deep down would be there for Victor?

france33.jpgEILEEN:

I think that’s why she was kind of afraid to go save Victor in the first place. If there were nothing at stake, it would not be a problem. She has been down that road too many times and has been burned. Why would she want to go back in?

MICHAEL:

Nikki asks Ashley to go find Victor, and I really did like the plot device. Did you?

EILEEN:

I do like the plot device. I think Ashley was being sensitive to Nikki, and I know people are going to read what they want to read into that. But she does not want to hurt Nikki. She is trying to make peace with people in her life, but Nikki is coming at it as if she is all kind of pissed off with the whole thing.

MICHAEL:

It seems its been Ashley’s personal project to clear Victor.

EILEEN:

I think she knows he kind of has to do that, or there is no need to go forward. He needs to face the charges and the demons of his past, and to go forward.

MICHAEL:

You had left “B&B” and are now back to “Y&R”, and have gone back and forth. How is that for you?

EILEEN:

It’s really nice and I feel comfortable in both places. It’s a nice situation.

kyle.jpgMICHAEL:

Do you feel like your time on “B&B” was another botched opportunity for you and Ashley? When we last did an interview together it was you, Kyle Lowder (Rick, “B&B”) and me, discussing how things had fizzled on air with your on-screen romance; and the characters at that point had nothing to do!

EILEEN:

I got fired from “Y&R” and Brad
Bell picked me up and employed
me at “B&B”. I had the opportunity
to work with people and do something
different than I had been doing over
at “Y&R”. I am actually grateful now. I think Brad gave me the opportunity to breathe new life into Ashley. Things change. It did not work out the way I was hoping it would, but I don’t blame anybody for that, or have any ill will. The bottom line is it’s a really hard gig to figure out story, and story that works. I have learned the way Brad and other writer’s work: that is, that something will appear and you go with it. How can I feel bad about being employed, and being treated exceptionally well? They wanted me back over here and it’s like
I never missed a beat. So I think I would be incredibly
ungrateful if I had anything but gratitude to Brad Bell
and the show.

MICHAEL:

I think it’s a testament to you as an actress and to your on-screen popularity, as well. But on “B&B” it’s a lot less show to tape, so that must have worked well with your family life.

EILEEN:

Definitely! I got a lot of family time. It’s incredible. A lot of the cast has families or kids…. Ronn Moss (Ridge), Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke), and Lesli Kay (Felicia). I like them all so much, and Kyle Lowder, too. And by the way, I happened to see a scene with Kyle the other day, and I love what they are doing with him. I love him mean. I was like, “Oh my God. I wish they would have had him mean when I was there!”

MICHAEL:

It was rough for Ashley on “B&B”. She seemed to float around with no real family ties.

EILEEN:

On “Y&R” it’s a better fit on the level of having history and connections to people than at “B&B”.

EileenPink.jpgMICHAEL:

In a recent scene, the show brought back the old Abbott bickering breakfasts with Beth Maitland (Traci), Peter Bergman (Jack), you, and Billy. How is working with Billy Miller, as the new Billy Abbott?

EILEEN:

He is terrific! I like him very much. I have not done a lot of work with him yet, but it feels fine and nice. I worked with the new Abbe recently, and she is fifteen.

MICHAEL:

How did that come about? With in a blink of an eye, Abbe really suffered from a severe case of SORAS!

EILEEN:

Well, (A)…. they aged Noah and so they had to age Abbe if they aged Noah. And (B)… I now have a teenage daughter and I love it!

MICHAEL:

How is working this closely again with Eric Braeden as Victor?

EILEEN:

It’s very nice! Eric and I have a certain kind of groove we get into when we are working together. I think it works for the characters as well, that we are getting reacquainted as actors and as characters. I think that will work for us.

MICHAEL:

Should we expect there to be a commitment for a while in telling the Victor/Ashley romance?

EILEEN:

Reading ahead, there are a lot of problems with family coming up. It’s a good thing to have Ashley and Victor connected, and have Jack as the foil. It works so well.

MICHAEL:

What do you think is at Ashley’s core? What drives her?

EILEEN:

She basically is trying to get her life on track. She has been roaming around for a long time. I think at this point, coming back home and reconnecting with Victor is a real attempt at putting down some serious roots and figuring things out. Going into this relationship with Victor, and going in with her eyes open…. not knowing what’s going to happen with this because they never had any closure… is certainly something that drives her, as well.

MICHAEL:

How was the Paris Remote? Did you like it?

EILEEN:

I did. I thought it was epic. It was a lot of work, but I thought it was awesome!

eileen.jpgMICHAEL:

I hear that the Paris remote and schedule was very daunting at times?

EILEEN:

Yes, we got in on Sunday. Then Sunday afternoon we had a meeting, and then we went and did photo shoots, press conferences, talks shows… and I would have to shoot with early morning call times. Then, my son got sick so I had to take him to the hospital. Thank God it turned out to be nothing. The stuff I was supposed to do Thursday afternoon, I had to do Friday morning and that was all the stuff on the Seine with Victor. Then we had a luncheon with fans, and that evening was the Sony party. I had more publicity to do than anyone else, it seemed. I had new things added onto my plate everyday. In fact, there was a big party on Friday night after the Sony party that Billy Bell was doing for all of us, and I just couldn’t do it. It was this big fancy, expensive restaurant in Paris, and I was getting sick. I was so disappointed. Finally, when you get a chance to have fun! I was so wiped out. It was that kind of a trip, and I was back to work right away.

MICHAEL:

What did you think of “Katherine’s” funeral scenes, where you were sitting in the pew waiting for Victor and you knew as Ashley what was going to happen?

EILEEN:

I did not see the scenes, but I liked it and I thought it was a great set-up. I hope I did not come off as being too huffy! I was trying to play it as I am being protective of him, and that this is going to rock everybody’s world when he shows up!

MICHAEL:

What does Ashley think of Nikki?

EILEEN:

I think she’s thinks she is not stable. She is too emotional and freaking out all the time.

MICHAEL:

And Ashley is a much more controlled character?

EILEEN:

She is desperately more in control now, given her situation.

MICHAEL:

Wouldn’t you like to see her have a breakdown again?

dial11.jpgEILEEN:

No, I don’t think so, not for a while. She needs to have some stability and a life, and then she can have a breakdown. But you have to establish that first.

MICHAEL:

How is your book doing?

EILEEN:

Its doing great! I did some recent book signings over in Southern California. “Death in Daytime” is a mystery novel. It’s based around a female actress who is on a soap and all the things that go on behind the scenes, and then some. The second book is coming out in a few months, “Dial Emmy for Murder”. Basically, this is a soap opera series. The lead character is Alexis Peterson, who is an actress on a soap. In the first book, she is on the “Yearning Tide” and in the second book she is on “The Bare and the Brazen”, where she is presenting at the Emmys and the person she is presenting with is nowhere to be found. I just pitched the concept of the third one. It’s all about death! (She laughs) It’s available at Barnes and Nobles and Amazon.com.

MICHAEL:

What can we say is coming up for Ashley in 2009?

EILEEN:

More of Victor and Ashley, and a bumpy
ride. I am going to give it a shot. I like
that they are both giving their romance
a shot… and they are hoping it’s the
right time.

Interviews

The Young and the Restless’ Michael Damian On Christine/Danny/Phyllis: “It’s a Fun Triangle Story That They’re Having Us Do, Because It’s Very Retro”

This week on The Young and the Restless, while Danny (Michael Damian) and Christine (Lauralee Bell) hit the sheets, and Phyllis (Michele Stafford) sets off an alarm as payback (literally!), the top-rated CBS soap opera continues to weave the tale of these three characters decades later, finding themselves in very familiar territory with each other.

We know that Christine and Phyllis are basically, mortal enemies, while Danny, who has been the man in the middle, has had a past with both women. However, it is Christine who has been, for all intent and purposes the love of his life.  But, will Phyllis’ machinations make it near to impossible for Danny and Christine to be together? Stay tuned.

Last week, Michael and his real-life wife, Janeen Damian visited the Michael Fairman Channel promoting their #1 streaming film on Netflix, Irish Wish starring Lindsay Lohan. The film was produced by the Damians, while Janeen directed it and co-wrote the romantic story. Michael is featured on the Irish Wish soundtrack performing his track, Wild Irish Heart.

Photo: Netflix

During the conversation, Michael shared what it has been like revisiting the Christine/Danny/Phyllis triangle years later. Damian addressed the fans on the livestream, who inquired. “It’s a fun triangle story that they’re having us do, because it’s very retro. And I think it’s fun to bring that nostalgia, retro thing back.”

Photo: JPI

Recalling a tender moment between Danny on the piano alone with Christine (during the standalone episode which honored Lauralee Bell’s 40th anniversary with Y&R), Michael expressed, “I think what they’re doing is so smart, and they’re reconnecting a lot of the fans to a lot of the story. I mean, we’re talking years and years of story.”

Photo: JPI

The longtime Y&R fan favorite, added, “I’m really glad they did the thing on the piano because people have been asking, ‘Why are you not doing any music? Why are you not singing? Where’s your band?’ You know what I mean? Janeen is asking the same thing, ‘Why aren’t you singing something on the show?’ The last time I sang on the show was when we thought Phyllis was dead. So, you know, that didn’t count. (Laughs)

One of the funniest moment in the revisiting of the triangle occurred when Phyllis and Christine were arguing over Danny, and he was right there in the room with them. The two women got so engrossed in their fight, they forgot he was there, and thus he walked out of the room.

Photo: JPI

Michael revealed, he liked that scene too! “They’re fighting. They’re arguing and Danny’s like, ‘Listen, I’m over here. Please stop it.” And then they don’t stop,” Damian recalled. “And so Danny just grabs his coat, picks up his sheet music, because he was working on a song. He goes to the door. In the scene, I even look back to see if they are even noticing me leave, and then I just left. That one was pretty funny. I’ll be honest. I was laughing out in the hallway when I left. I was thinking, ‘Should I slam the door? But then if I slam the door, they still have dialogue.’ They’re still talking and they would’ve turned, and then it would’ve ruined it. So, I just gently closed the door and left.

Photo: JPI

During the livestream, Damian teased he has some upcoming scenes with longtime Y&R co-star Beth Maitland (Traci), “I just worked with Beth Maitland actually the other day, and that was really fun. I can’t wait for people to see that show.”

Check out the the Michael Fairman Channel chat with Michael and Janeen Damian below.

Now, let us know, are you rooting for Danny and Christine? Do you think Phyllis will continue to be a disruptor in this relationship and somehow worm her way back into Dannys good graces? Share your thoughts in the comment section. But first check out this sneak peek for this week’s Y&R featuring the trio.

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Days Of Our Lives

Days of our Lives Star Blake Berris Chats On the Everett Lynch/Bobby Stein Mystery, Working with His New Co-Stars, and the Last Christmas Episode with Bill Hayes

On Days of our Lives, the return of Blake Berris is making for some very intriguing drama, with the audience guessing just which way the story will go.

When Berris arrived back on Days of our Lives, after previously playing Nick Fallon, he was taking on the new role of Everett Lynch, who has a past with Stephanie Johnson (Abigail Klein) and Jada Hunter (Elia Cantu). Only, as it has been revealed, the past he had with Jada was under the name “Bobby Stein,” who from what we can tell was far from a nice guy.

Blake visited the Michael Fairman Channel for a livestream interview this week, where fans in the live chat were weighing-on what could be the truth about the guy – is he a split personality suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder? Did the accident that cost him a year of his life in a coma, never happen? Recently, someone set fire to the beloved Horton house. Fans are suspecting it would have been “Bobby” who is working for Clyde Weston (James Read). Others believe that Everett/Bobby could actually be Clyde’s son. With upcoming therapy sessions with Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) about to start, things are about to get more juicy in Salem.

Photo: JPI

Here are just a few excerpts from our conversation with Blake on a myriad of Everett/Bobby subjects. Make sure to check out the full interview for more.

Did you know that they were going to make Everett Lynch a Jewish character? This is only the second time in the history of the show that they have even had a Jewish character on the canvas. Didn’t they reveal this at the Horton family Christmas episode?

BLAKE: No, they never asked me. I am half-Jewish on my dad’s side. There was never like, ‘You’re Jewish, right? We can call you Jewish on the show?’ At the Horton Christmas, “They made a real point of it, yeah.”

And now the new ‘character’ is “Bobby Stein” …

BLAKE: “Right, and that suggests more Jewish, and then Lynch must be coming from somewhere else, maybe the mother. I was so curious because I think the show has been historically, I’m gonna say, Catholic more than like Wasps. With the Bradys there’s this sort of Irish influence, and then the DiMeras, that’s Italian. So, we’ve got Catholics sort of on both sides that are dominant. Now I, “represent”.

Photo: JPI

What has it been like working with Abigail Klein?

BLAKE: I think she is extraordinary. We start off sort of frosty, or she’s frosty with me, like she doesn’t want to let me in. And then, for a while things are going really well. I just could not adore Abigail more. She’s such a good actor. I could always rely on her to bring me back into a scene and be there in this emotionally, supportive way.

Photo: JPI

Everett and Chad seemed to be becoming friend-ish, when all went awry when at the PCPD interrogation room, Everett let him know about Elia and Bobby Stein, and Chad let him have it for worming his way back in to Stephanie’s life.

BLAKE: Billy would call us the ‘disgusting brothers’ and that’s a reference from Succession, because all of a sudden they’re just so chummy with each other. It’s like all of a sudden we just had this like ‘Bernstein and Woodward’, sort of dynamic duo. I think that Everett really started to think of Chad as a friend and feels sort of disappointed, and he feels, “Oh, it’s that easy? I just needed to have some other identity and now you’re a fair-weather friend?”‘

Photo: JPI

In recent scenes, Jada sees Bobby Stein for the first time, and we see you and Elia Cantu share scenes with each other for the first time. What is it like working with Elia?

BLAKE: She’s fire, man. She comes in hot and she tells you the way it’s going to be. I think early on, we were trying to suss each other out and the more we worked together, the more comfortable you get with somebody. I think actors do this sometimes with each other; if there’s spice on screen, you like to keep some of what you have on-screen in your (real-life) interactions because it helps … it helps the work.  Eventually, we just sort of wore each other down and we’re like, ‘I actually totally get you, and you’re great.'”

Did you know that they were going to make Everett Lynch a Jewish character? This is only the second time in the history of the show that they have even had a Jewish character and didn’t they reveal this at the Horton family Christmas episode?

BLAKE: No, they never asked me. I am half-Jewish on my dad’s side. There was never like, ‘You’re Jewish, right? We can call you Jewish on the show?’ At the Horton Christmas, “They made a real point of it, yeah.”

And now the new ‘character’ is “Bobby Stein” …

BLAKE: “Right, and that suggests more Jewish, and then Lynch must be coming from somewhere else, maybe the mother. I was so curious because I think the show has been historically, I’m gonna say, Catholic more than like Wasps. With the Bradys there’s this sort of Irish influence, and then the DiMeras, that’s Italian. So we’ve got Catholics sort of on both sides that are dominant. Now I, “represent”.

Photo: JPI

You were on set and in the annual Horton Christmas episode which sadly marked the last for Days of our Lives legendary Bill Hayes, who passed away in January of this year.  What do you recall of that tape day?

BLAKE: It was the Christmas episode when we were watching Susan (Julie) and Bill, say ‘Merry Christmas.’  And there was something about it that just felt like it could be the last time. I mean, it wrecked us all on set. Bill gets so choked up and there was something really profound about the moment. They kiss each other as they have so many times before on the show. It was just beautiful. It felt beautiful to be there for that last Christmas. He’s just such an icon. Every time I’d see him, he was so with it … he knew my name, he knew his lines. What an incredible, incredible man.

Photo: JPI

Fans will get to see Everett in therapy sessions with Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall)? Would you say she is helping the guy?

BLAKE: Deidre’s always making jokes about Marlena, ‘She’s the worst therapist in the world’ (Laughs) I remember in the first therapy session, we almost couldn’t get through the scenes because it’s just so clear that Everett has a litany of very profound psychological issues that he is going to have to work through. He’ll keep coming back. This guy’s gonna pay the bills!

Photo: JPI

Viewers are waiting to see how they mystery of Everett Lynch/Bobby Stein plays out. What can you say as a tease for what’s to come?

BLAKE: As far as a tease, I would say, you have all these characters sort of, trying to wake up the ‘sleeping giant’ in a way. I think it’s safe to say that like if you poke a bear, the bear might wake up.

Watch the livestream chat with Blake in full below.

Now let us know, what do you think is going with Everett/Bobby? What has happened to him in his past? Share your theories in the comment section below, and make sure to catch Days of our Lives next week on Peacock for more to his story.

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Interviews

Y&R’s Melody Thomas Scott Talks on 45 Years as Nikki Newman, the Keys to Playing Drunk, And Those Genoa City Relationships

February is ‘Nikki Newman Month’ in soapland as the The Young and the Restless iconic Melody Thomas Scott celebrates her 45th anniversary in her leading role.

My how time flies! Nikki has had numerous marriages, and some to the same man, battled her addiction to alcohol too many times to count (and we loved it all), and faced so much heartache in the process.

Currently, on all-new episodes of the top-rated CBS daytime drama series, Nikki can’t quite get a grip as Jordan (Colleen Zenk) is out there and in the middle of her next master plot to make Nikki suffer, all the while Nikki is drinking again. Thanks to the heinous plot concocted by Jordan and Claire (Hayley Erin) that revealed itself last November.

Photo: JPI

In a special conversation for You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel, Melody shared her thoughts on a myriad of subjects including: her current story, those long tape days at Victor and Nikki’s weddings, why she plays drunk better than anyone on television, plus we take a mini-deep dive into Nikki’s past.

Y&R fans were stunned when the powers-that-be had Nikki kidnapped and then hooked her up to an IV of booze. Just how much did Melody know of the story going in? She elaborated, “I knew Nikki would be terrorized. That’s all that I knew. I thought that sounded like great fun. I didn’t know for a little bit that she was going to fall off the wagon in the process of it. And then when I heard how it would happen, I was thrilled to bits. I did kind of want to have a little leader (or crawl) down at the bottom of the screen saying, ‘Hey, people don’t put an IV with vodka in your arm because that will kill you.’ But, poetic license, I suppose.”

Photo: JPI

Melody also weighed-in on if she thinks Nikki will stop drinking anytime soon, expressing, “She just can’t get out of this. Then of course, Jordan’s not letting her out very easily. Just when Nikki thinks she is mentally strong enough to never take another drink, well, of course she does, because something else happens. I think it’s also a learning point for people who are watching the show who may have an addiction problem. Now, I could be wrong, but I think it’d be highly unusual for somebody to be just mentally strong to be able to stop.”

If you wondered if Melody enjoys playing a drunk Nikki, look no more, “I do. That’s simply for selfish reasons,” she shared. “That’s for my enjoyment. I take great pleasure in it. It’s fun for me, and just the process of pretending to be drunk. I love the end result. I try not to do too much because there’s nothing worse when an actor is overplaying drunk. So you have to kind of keep it a little bit underneath (the surface). However, sometimes because of Jordan, Nikki does get much sloppier than I normally would play it.”

Photo: JPI

In recent episodes, it seems that Jack (Peter Bergman) and Nikki are gravitating more to each other, as both are drawn together through their shared experiences with addiction. Victor (Eric Braeden) is not happy that his arch-nemesis is helping Nikki try to stay sober. Could Melody see Jack and Nikki becoming romantic again? “I love Peter. I mean, Peter was my second favorite husband on Y&R. It would be wonderful, but I don’t know if the fans would go for that,” she explained. “They’re so invested in Niktor that I think they would really be upset about that unless Victor did something really crummy, then I could buy that.”

Photo: JPI

One of the more ‘out there’ stories during Melody’s 45-year run, was when Nikki was paired with Crazy Edward, and he took her home to meet his mother … who was in an urn! You would think maybe Melody didn’t like the story .. but think again! “Bill Bell (co-creator, Y&R) was writing the show in those days, and Bill kept that information pretty tight. I don’t remember us knowing even a week in advance. Maybe, we would get our scripts, three or four days in advance and that was it. You knew nothing about future story, but I loved the story,” she raved. “It was almost Hitchcockian, shall we say. The actor who played Crazy Edward, Paul Tulley was so magnificent and such a sweetheart. We loved working with each other so much, but man, when that red light came on the camera, he scared the you-know-what out of me. He was absolutely terrifying. But then, the minute the scene was over, we’re fooling around and laughing and everything. He was so good. So good!”

Photo: JPI

According to Melody, the pairing of Victor and Nikki was not something she, nor Eric Braeden, initially thought would made sense: “I was a little terrified when I heard that he and I would be doing scenes. I thought, ‘What, what?’ He also wondered, ‘What am I going to be doing working with that young kid, that snotty kid?’ We had no idea what Bill Bell saw. He had a vision with us and somehow knew that we would have chemistry. It didn’t take Bill long to show us in the scripts why he put us together. Then, we started to see it. Although, it was hard to imagine at first, certainly we knew it worked by the time Nikki had baby number one during the ‘Who’s the father?’ storyline. Nikki and Victor weren’t even married yet. So, we did figure it out pretty early on.”

Photo: JPI

From her early years as Nikki Reed, Melody reflected back on some major story points in her character’s history, relating, “I actually did like her in the very beginning when she was just a little brat living with her sister and her father, who of course ended up trying to rape her…  and she had hit him over the head with a lamp … and he died. I did not care for the stripping storyline at all. Only because I knew that I didn’t have the natural dancing ability. I wasn’t fluid enough to really look good up there stripping. I know they hired wonderful choreographers and everything for me, but I just didn’t feel worthy of being up there … I guess is what it was. Of course, now I look back on it and I think, ‘Oh, I guess it wasn’t too bad.’ Later, there was a strip she did in the Colonnade Room. At the time, she was married to Jack. Victor’s sitting there with some other woman and she’s drunk. I saw that scene recently, and I thought it was great. I didn’t at the time, but looking back, I thought, ‘Wow, that was good.'”

Photo: CBS

Watch the full 45th anniversary conversation with Melody below.

Now let us know, are you enjoying Nikki being back on the bottle? Would you want to see Jack and Nikki try their relationship one more time? What has been your favorite storyline of Melody’s over the last 45 years on Y&R.  Let us know in the comment section.

 

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Peter Reckell returns for a second visit with Michael Fairman following the wrap-up of his recent run as Bo Brady on Days of our Lives.Leave A Comment

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