News
Y&R’s Michelle Stafford Continues Tradition and Hosts Ladies Luncheon with Daytime Emmy Nominees for Lead and Supporting Actress
Daytime Emmy week is in full swing, with the kick-off the annual tradition of the ladies luncheon. The first ladies luncheon was hosted by Susan Flannery (ex-Stephanie, The Bold and the Beautiful). In the format, the winner of last year’s Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series, picks up the tab, and picks the venue for this year’s nominees in the Lead Actress category.
In recent years, past winners who host the get-together, have decided to include Lead and Supporting Actress nominees. That tradition was also carried through by last year’s lead actress winner, Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) of The Young and the Restless who held the lunch at Cecconi’s in West Hollywood.
Over the weekend, photo snaps appeared on Instagram including from Stafford who shared that “Before you start yelling at me, The gals you don’t see in this pictures, Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis, GH), Laura Wright (Carly, GH), Kate Mansi (Kristina, GH), Sharon Case (Sharon, GH), Emily O’Brien (Gwen, DAYS) and Linsey Godfrey (Sarah, DAYS) were not able to come.”

Photo: JPI
However, those participating were, Lead Actress nominees, Eileen Davidson (Ashley, Y&R) and Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea, Y&R) and Supporting Actress nominees, Susan Walters (Diane, Y&R) and Courtney Hope (Sally, Y&R).
Stafford’s Instagram post shared: “The ladies who lunch❤️ Carrying on this tradition that was started by the great Susan Flannery This year we celebrated the Lead and Supporting Actresses… before some of you start yelling at me. The gals who you don’t see in this picture Nancy Lee Grahn, Laura Wright, Kate Mansi, Sharon Case, Emily O’Brien and Linsey Godfrey were not able to come We missed you gorgeous ladies!! ❤️ This was a beautiful time! I love these women: Eileen Davidson, Susan Walters, Courtney Hope, Melissa Claire Egan. Such great conversation! Pinky swears were made!! I have more pics to come!! Thank you #ciccones thank you @anyonecanbakeit ❤️ Next… The Emmys! It’s gonna be a fun night!!”
Meanwhile, Melissa Claire Egan also took to Instagram and expressed, “What a day! LOVED celebrating the Lead & Supporting Actress Emmy nominations alongside this incredible group of women and friends. Stories were told, pinky promises were made (even our waiter got in on it), and many laughs were had. Looking forward to celebrating them all and our daytime community on Friday! Thanks for hosting, @therealstafford. These women are so hilarious, talented, and beautiful. Also I’m reminded how much shorter I am than all of them. See you Friday!”
You can check out Michelle Stafford’s ladies luncheon post below, which also contains heartfelt messages from the other nominees who could not make the event in the thread.
The 52nd annual Daytime Emmys will be handed out on Friday, October 17 in ceremonies emanating from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena California, and will be streamed live beginning at 7pm ET/4pm PT via watch.theemmys.tv and The Emmys app.
Share your thoughts on the annual ladies luncheon featuring the nominees for Lead and Supporting Actress in the comment section below.
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How convenient that it wound up being a Y&R only luncheon.
I think I would have rescheduled until more ladies could come…but that’s just me…
Do not worry when you nominate that many from one show they usually cross each other out. I don’t watch any of them anymore but I would guess NLG will probably take it. But I do not have a horse in the race.
I am really thinking something is up with this they should have found a time more could attend it is not the young and the restless emmy lunch its in bad taste obviously!
Is MCE ( Chelsea) Amish? Not that there is anything wrong with that.
It was nice having the Daytime Emmys back on regular TV in recent years, so the highest possible number of people could watch it. But I guess this is a product of their idiotic decision to move the awards for 2024 to almost the end of 2025, none of the networks wanted to pre-empt their regularly scheduled programming when the new TV season just started.
That it’s back on streaming only is a major step back. I’ve already had a couple older friends and relatives ask me how to watch it, and it’s hard explaining to them that it’s not on regular TV on CBS, NBC, or ABC, and it’s not on one of the major streamers that they know how to use like Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, Prime etc.
I’m so glad the tradition is continuing. I bet all of them have a great time.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing

General Hospital star Cynthia Watros, who can currently be seen in on the ABC soap opera in the role of Nina Reeves, has had a enduring career in television. That included her time on the 2000-2002 Fox sitcom, Titus.
In Titus, Watros starred along with Stacy Keach as Erin Fitzpatrick and Ken Titus, respectively. After the November 10th news that Keach had passed away at 85 while living in Poland, Cynthia took to her Instagram on Thursday, November 12 to pay tribute to the great actor.
Watros expressed, “My first prime time show was along side Stacy. I loved him instantly. What an amazing talent and man.❤️”

Photo: ABC
In Titus, Stacy played stand up comedian Christopher Titus’ heavy-drinking, chain-smoking, five-times-divorced father who frequently pulled cruel pranks and tried to toughen his kids up. Cynthia played by Christopher’s level-headed, big-hearted girlfriend trying to build a normal life with him. In fact, Cynthia’s role on the sitcom was first series regular role after her Daytime Emmy run of Annie Dutton on Guiding Light which ran from 1994-1998.
STACY KEACH’S WIFE ON HIS PASSING
Keach’s wife, Malgosia shared the news of the actor’s death publicly in a statement with PEOPLE. Malgosia expressed, that Stacy had, “a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure.”
She added, “Stacy peacefully departed this world. He fought for so long, with extraordinary courage, determination and strength. He was a true warrior, facing his illness with the same remarkable spirit and resilience that defined his life.”
Małgosia continued, “Stacy was not only a legendary actor, admired and loved by audiences the world over, but also my beloved husband, my companion and the heart of our family. His passing leaves an immeasurable emptiness in our lives. But his extraordinary spirit, his unforgettable voice and the love he gave so generously will remain with us forever.”
Now, let us know do you remember when Cynthia made her sitcom debut in Titus? Share your thoughts via the comment section on Cynthia’s many TV roles and the passing of Stacy Keach in the comment section. But first, check out the very first episode of Titus with Cynthia Watros below!
Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)

Soap opera fans are always clamoring for when Dancing with the Stars reveals their cast each season, that they would include a familiar face from daytime drama, but it rarely happens, if ever, anymore.
Over the last several years, the series has leaned heavily into casting celebrities with massive TikTok or Instagram followers, which in turn, have helped this season and last have their best ratings numbers in years.
But, how about for next season’s cast of Dancing with the Stars, that it could include newly-awarded Daytime Emmy winner, Ambyr Michelle (Eva Thomas) of Beyond the Gates?

Photo: CBS
LOVE OF DANCE TO LOVE OF ACTING
Michael Fairman TV spoke to Michelle about her dance background and if she would love a shot at lifting the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy during Wednesday’s November 11, livestream chat on the Michael Fairman Channel.
Ambyr explained to fans (who joined in on the live chat), how she began her show business career. “I started off as a dancer, first and foremost. Acting wasn’t really something I wanted to go after. I did plays when I was younger, but it was just something we did in school, but I really wanted to be a dancer. I moved out to LA to dance, and I fell out of love with dance, which was so weird.”
This year’s Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series winner, added, “I was like, ‘What is going on?’ I moved all the way out here for dance. I found I was forcing myself to go to dance class, and I just didn’t have the passion for it. I was working at this restaurant at the time, and one of my coworker was like, ‘What about taking an acting class out here?'”
Next, Ambyr took the coworker up on the idea. “So, I took an acting class and I fell in love with it that day,” shared Michelle. “I was like, ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life.’ I thought, I would love to book a role, of course, as a dancer, but I think acting has a little bit more longevity.”

Photo: ABC
A SHOT AT THE LEN GOODMAN MIRRORBALL TROPHY
When the talked turned to if Ambyr would consider or be interested in appearing on the ballroom dance competition series, she piped up with, “I would love to do Dancing with the Stars! Pick me!”
As those in the live chat rallied around this idea, it made us think, Ambyr could be the first contestant from Beyond the Gates, and someone representing the soaps. It checks off so many boxes! To which Ambyr replied, “That would be beautiful.”
You can check out the full conversation with Ambyr below.
So, what do you think soap fans? Can we make sure Ambyr’s name gets in front of the producers and casting director for next season’s Dancing with the Stars? Would you like to see her in the competition? If so, who would be your dream pro professional dance partner for her? Let us know in the comment section.
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.
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