Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

Since Elizabeth Hendrickson’s (Chloe) return to The Young and the Restless, she has wasted no time in shaking things up on the Genoa City canvas in a major way, and there is plenty more to come!

As viewers have witnessed, Chloe in her thirst for revenge has done such unimaginable things, starting with teaming up with Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) to ruin Adam Newman’s (formerly Justin Hartley) life and put behind bars forever. Now Chloe is living with her best friend, Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egsn), who is grieving the loss of her husband Adam, after Chloe set him up to die!  And there is still the issue of just who is the biological father of her daughter Bella?  What will happen when the truth comes out?  Is it really Billy Abbott’s (Jason Thompson) little girl?  And, will Chloe and Kevin rekindle their relationship?

To get some insight to all of these questions and much more, On-Air On-Soaps Michael Fairman sat down with Elizabeth Hendrickson for this very special video interview to talk about many of the recent pivotal moments fans of the top-rated soap have watched, and to preview what is still to come.  Here are just a few of the key excerpts from Liz and Michael’s chitchat below.

When asked if Elizabeth was surprised to return to Y&R, she related: “It was a total surprise, but it was a good surprise.  I was pleasantly surprised, but out of the blue for me.  But, I knew it was going to be juicy, and they made an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Courtesy/CBS

As to if Liz knew that her return was a huge part to Adam’s exit storyline and that she would be the one to destroy Adam, Hendrickson noted: “They didn’t say ‘destroy’ Adam, but I knew Adam was in the mix.  I knew there was a chance that Justin Hartley was going somewhere. Sometimes people think that we know what’s going (behind the scenes), but not really.  But, I had a feeling that was a piece of the puzzle.”

Chloe’s been acting “crazy” in her vendetta against Adam, but Hendrickson shared she thinks of her differently: “I kind of changed the wording from “crazy” to her “reality” and her reality is, and has always been, that she is going to avenge her daughter Delia’s death, and that Delia needs the justice that is deserved.  So I don’t think Chloe necessarily has it all planned out.  I think she is more of a spontaneous girl.  I don’t think she sits there with her entire plan and maps it out.  But, I think all of these emotions brings them up, and stirs her up, and then she thinks, “Oh! This is the best plan.”   Then, she goes for it.  Adam has always been at the top of her list.”

When Liz read the script that Chloe walks in to Adam’s cabin in those huge boots preparing to kill him, she shared: “I heard that there was going to be this show, where I was shooting Adam with a tranquilizer.  I am like, “What?  I get to do that?”   I love playing the fun stuff.  I don’t think I realized the magnitude of everything that was really happening.”

Courtesy/CBS

As to what Chloe might have done with Adam once she paralyzed him with the tranquilizer, before the explosion that “killed him”, Liz shared: “In my mind her intention was just to have him suffer, and I think her use of a tranquilizer was her hoping Adam would have a slow death.  But, I don’t think her plan was to have him blown up!  She had nothing to do with the explosion.”

Now that Adam is believed to be ‘dead”, does Chloe know where he is? Liz expressed: “No, I don’t think she really knows, nor, do I think she really cares.  After she finds out the explosion happen, she kind of feels bad, but secretly, deep down inside, that is all she ever wanted.  But she constantly has that pull back to Chelsea.  She does feel guilt, only because she loves Chelsea so much, and she sees the pain she is in, but then Chloe has to remind herself, ‘No. This is really what you wanted.’   When this story comes to a head, I am very interested to see what those scenes will be like between Chelsea and Chloe, because they are going to be massive.  It’s a really big, huge reveal for her.”

Though it was a short amount of time, Liz had nothing but fantastic things to say about exited star Justin Hartley, who is now starring on NBC’s This Is Us:  “He was phenomenal.  I am so bummed that I got a month to work with him.   I loved our scenes in the jail and I wish there was more.  There is a reason he ended up on a primetime show.  Justin is a heavy-hitter.  He’s an awesome actor, and he is also an awesome guy.”

Courtesy/CBS

Another heavy-hitter Liz has gotten the opportunity to work with is Eric Braeden – for Victor and Chloe were originally in cahoots to bring Adam to his knees.  Liz shared:   “That was one piece of the puzzle, I never knew.  I did not know I would be so connected with Victor, and that we would be this new little duo!  I had never worked with him before, not one on one.  I have had scenes with him where I have been in the same room with him with other characters.  But I love working with Eric.  Right now as its airing, Victor worries Chloe.  He can do some serious things, but they are not really in cahoots together anymore.”

Being good pals with Melissa Claire Egan, Hendrickson relates that a great work day is one that also has Missy in it: “Missy and I have the best time. When I am acting with her it’s like I am sitting there with my girlfriend, but when I am acting, I am being the worst friend in the world.  (Laughs) I respect Missy so much as an actress.  She is so talented”

Is there hope for a Kevin/Chloe relationship redo? Liz revealed: “Chloe sees Kevin just as a friend, but … I think Chloe still has some issues, and I don’t think she is really ready to be alone.   Unfortunately she can be an easy target.   Not that she uses him, because I don’t think she does it an intentional way.  I think Chloe really loves Kevin, and no one loves him like the way that she does.  I think she gets confused over what she wants and what she needs.  But what you will start to see is that Chloe is going to start to need him for support and she may blur those lines, between friendship and relationship.”

Courtesy/CBS

The big story coming up is who is truly Bella’s baby daddy, and fans suspect it will be Billy’s child.  But Liz admits: “I don’t really know, but I have an idea, and I would love it if it was Billy’s and I got to work with Jason Thompson more.  Mainly because I feel like they dropped the ball with Chloe and Billy many years ago.  I think that is a story that could be revisited, and they really didn’t deal with two parents losing their child.  It was more like he lost her and he’s over here, and I lost her and I’m over there.   Billy went through that with Victoria (Amelia Heinle), not with Chloe. I think how parents go through a lost like that is much more interesting story to be told.   That being said, I have always been a huge fan of Jason Thompson when he was on General Hospital.  We have mutual friends and whenever I would run into him, I would say, ‘Jason, you are my favorite soap guy” – he was just always my favorite.  So when they called me to come to Y&R, Jason being here was a large part of me coming back.  I said, ‘Yes, I want to work with him.’ I love that Jason is playing my on-screen ex-husband, Billy.”

Having worked in soaps for ten years, both in the casts of All My Children and Y&R, Liz knows that recasts are hard for the actors involved and the fans, but feels Jason Thompson is making Billy his own: “The hardest job in the world is to step into someone else’s shoes, and those shoes were refilled three times by the time Jason came to Y&R.  I think when Billy Miller (Ex-Billy, now Jason GH) stepped into those shoes, he made quite a mark.  I can see that they were hard shoes to fill, but you can’t expect anyone to be the same.  As actor’s, we don’t take over roles to be like someone else.  We take on the role and put our take on it.  I feel for the fans when something like this happens, as for them it can be alarming, but in regards to Jason in the role of Billy, I think he is doing a great job!”

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

Going back a beat when Chloe left the show before, she became pregnant which gave viewers clues as to who could be Bella’s daddy, Hendrickson recounted:  “So Chloe left town with the sperm, but she also slept with Kevin that day, so that’s why there is this “Who’s the daddy?” story.  Then she came back to town secretly pregnant, and then the next time she came back, I guess Bella was hanging out in the loony bin, because she was being babysat by one of the nurses, while she made that little trip to GC.” (Laughs)

Elizabeth admitted her joy of being back at Y&R: “Being back is a hundred times bigger and better than I could ever imagine.  Moving forward, Chloe is goings to piss people off!  I love playing a bitch!” (Laughs)

Watch the full Elizabeth Hendrickson video interview below. Then weigh-in: What did you think of Chloe’s part in “Adam’s death”?  Working in cahoots with Victor?   What do you think will happen when Chelsea finds out what her best friend has done to her husband?  Are you rooting for Kevin and Chloe to get back together? Who will turn out to be Bella’s bio-dad?  If it is Billy’s, what kind of relationship would you like Chloe to have with him?  And finally, are you thrilled Liz Hendrickson is back on Y&R adding more excitement and unexpected moments into the daytime drama series?  Share your thoughts on the interviews and more in the comment section below!