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Y&R’s Michelle Stafford Takes A Look Back At Some Of Phyllis’ Most Memorable Moments
This week, Michelle Stafford is back on-screen on The Young and the Restless coming home to play her signature soap opera role of Phyllis Summers. To kick things off, Y&R and CBS.com put together another one of their look backs, where the actors sit in front of a screen and unrehearsed watch scenes of themselves as their character through the years.
In Michelle’s, she comments and watches her very first Y&R scene and its with Michael Damian (Danny), then another with Lauralee Bell(Christine). Who could forger the Cricket/Phyllis rivalry over Danny? Later, we fast forward in time to when Nick(Joshua Morrow) and Phyllis passion ignited and they began their relationship which came to a screeching halt sometime later, when Phyllis caught Nick kissing his ex Sharon (Sharon Case) in Paris.
What fun it was to see Stafford commenting on the footage and getting us all ready for her Phyllis to take on Genoa City again!
Watch the video below. Then let us know, are you excited to see how Michelle’s Phyllis gets into the thick of things? What was your favorite Y&R storyline of the past featuring Michelle? Comment below.
It’s so damn irritating with so many viewers and Canadian followers of MFTV that we are unable to view these videos.
hi GramS
You don’t have Youtube in Canada??
youtube is worldwide ..
it is a youtube video.
Well, I was rather partial to Gina Tognoni. However, that said, when did soaps stop announcing the recast? Why, when the recast for GH’s Nina, did we not hear a voice over saying,”The role of Nina will now be played by Cynthia Watros? Or when the recast took over for Y&R’s Phyllis, why did we not hear,”The role of Nina will now be played by Godzilla”? I don’t get it.
About right now I am feeling badly for Gina this is the problem with Social Media I sure hope she is not reading this stuff it’s like they are trying to erase her she gave the job 100 percent she is not the first one however that the original portrayer came back I can name tons of them but still feeling bad for her. I know Case wrote lively words about her and others did also
I agree. The cast and crew adored Gina. I really appreciated her ability
To play Phyllis without imitating Stafford and without chewing up the scenery like Godzilla of Genoa city.
But, Harry, my love—-you hit the nail on the head!! You inadvertently prove my point…Gina destroyed the stuff Phyllis was/is made of!! Gina could never imitate Michelle, the real Phyllis.
As much as I adore Gina, her Phyllis lacked complexity; that innately elusive quirk which comes so easily for Michelle.
There is an ocean between Gina and Michelle–Gina tried swimming , yet she never made it to the other shore.
I noticed that a different light shone on Phyllis ( Gina) in the last few episodes……The old Phyllis was pushing through, preparing us for Michelle….
….the PTB tried injecting Phyllis/Gina with Satan’s naughty potion—- didn’t work for me and it didn’t work for Gina. She never measured up to Michelle’s finess of working the audience with her no-good intentions. Gina was too sedate to be Phyllis.
I was used to Michelle’s portrayal of “spunk”—-
The nuNina ( GH) has a steep and rocky mountain to climb, as well. Here goes another bitter-taste-in-the-mouth. No VAVA-VOOM!!
Harry,
Where have you been? Missed you….
I want to make another point. I think that there are many actors/actresses who take over another’s role and become the “victors”, such as Billy Miller, as Billy Abbott…..JH and MM as Adam Newman—-they were both better than the original.
Sometimes, if we hold an antipathy for the actor/actress himself/herself, we will possibly not give said actors a fair shake. In my case I do love Gina—very much—so…..
Correction: finesse.❤️
@Harry……..On the positive side, at least she’s not chewing up Port Charles anymore!!! Unfortunately, GH still has more than its own share of scenery chompers, and NuNina is a bust….not much of an improvement over our much-loathed original version.
Harry, I think they only did that voice over thing when we didn’t know ahead of time about the recast. I guess they figured with all the news and hype about the switch, that it wasn’t needed, and would give it more of an element of surprise when it happened.
Okay Violet. Like when Joan Crawford filled in for her daughter Christina on The Doctors? Okay. I guess I was trying to be funny with the Godzilla comment. Thud!!!
Harry,
That was funny about Crawford, and to me she WAS Godzilla. So, take your thud back.
Well, that was fun..
Of course, I didn’t know all that, so was fun to see it..
I see Michelle put some red in her hair, a Phillis trait.
Talking of hair;
Michael.. my Gawd! I hope the makeup dept takes that awful rug/hairpiece/wig thing off his head..
it is very unnatural and obvious, not cool, just be natural.
Y&R is overkill with attempting to make the seniors look ridiculously young.
I hope Michelle puts her Phillis mean on..
(the new Nina at GH, I dunno.. time will tell.)
I’m really liking new Adam..
Wish I was enjoying the show again I just feel like I am being taken back in time disappointed but I guess the veteran actors are happy again .
Hi, SusieQ,
I did it again…..posted prematurely…
Yes, it was fun….love Michelle. She lights up my screen; always, regardless her role.
I hope the character keeps her “sort of middle ground”. Sometimes a bad girl, yet other times, a loving, albeit mysterious femme fatale—-something which seemed to have escaped Tognoni. Phyllis is finally home. I’m sure her storyline will bear delicious fruit, yet reap a stormy and intriging outcome. Bring back Ronan!! Who can the Chancellor link be? So many possibilities. Phillip? His son with Nina?
I cannot say the same for Tracy and Cane—what a stupid, boring story—I love seeing Tracy; but please get her away from Cane. He is so superfluous—-definitely not needed. I think he’s kept around waiting for a story to break—-help me, ye soap gods!! I FF whenever he darkens the stage—unfortunately, Tracy gets FFed with him.
I pray these two will not become an item. Sacrebleu!!
Oh, I’ve been out of town. When was Gina’s last day on screen?
Oh hell yes, that was terrific. would love to watch Michelle Stafford play Phyllis the rest of my life, and watching the scenes from the past, could do it all day every day. So happy you are back!!!!
Thank GOD the stars have lined up again! Now, lets get rid of that Billy Abbott impostor!
Hey Timmm,
I Think he’s the best Billy we’ve ever had, except for Billy Miller of course. I just think he’s strong enough to play opposite the likes of Victoria, Victor, Chloe, Adam or anyone else that seems to be on him for one thing or another.
Hey Timmm
Sorry, but I like J.T as Billy. I think, except for Billy Miller, he’s been the only one strong enough to stand up to Victoria, Victor, Phyllis, Adam, etc.characters. The other two were not as good. I hear Billy Miller is leaving GH, so maybe Y&R will woo him back, as they did Michelle Stafford. One can only hope, right?
Say it again, T. Billy Miller, albeit not the original BA, kicked butt as the charmer, the gorgeous, the lover, the indisputable good/bad boy Abbott❤️
I love love love her and her character. So happy you are back.
Sorry not impressed! Gina rocked it in this role for five years I was glued to Y&R only to see her acting skills which just a killer, awesome, great, and she rocked it everyday. The cast fell in love with her and so did many. I am going to miss Gina T dearly. The way these two dump idiots at CBS too away of the best actress of our generation is mind blowing. What are they thinking? How did the TOP executives at CBS let these two fools do this to Gina T. She was rocking the Y&R for five years. To bring back Stafford who said she SHE WOULD NEVER COME BACK and boy here is she is unbelievable. Back to boring on the Y&R it will NEVER be the same without Gina T. period.
CBS you messed up!
So thrilled that Michelle Stafford is back! She is one of a kind! I remember back in 2005, when I gave up on GH and switched to Y&R — I had to replace one addiction with another, didn’t I?!?! — I found Stafford’s acting to be so authentic and enjoyable. GH was lucky to have her for her tenure there, but it’s great to see her back in her iconic role.
PS: Gina Tognoni did an excellent job, as is typical of her acting as well!
Thank you, James….agree with you to the hilt. We understand “Phyllis” and each other, my friend.
I suppose Gina did make Phyllis her own, as many suggest. But, that’s the crux of the matter—-The true Phyllis; the mischievous, yet enigmatic Phyllis; the never-turn-your-back-on-me Phyllis; the love-you-forever Phyllis was lost on Gina. ….I am not disputing Gina’s acting skills; they are as sharp as a tack—-she simply never conquered the character without changing Phyllis’ basic nature.
Besides, compare the two. When Gina, as Phyllis walked into a room, I was not compelled to do a double-take!! Michelle is “Poetry In Motion”!! As my husband said, MS exudes sex-appeal ( LOL), unlike Gina—-
❤️
Celia! Thanks so much for your reply! You have made my day!
So good to see we feel the same about Ms. Stafford — just an incomparable talent. I like and agree with your assessment here. I also share the opinion of you and your husband regarding Ms. Stafford’s sex appeal!
Have a good one, Friend!
I am wondering what happened to our Michael Fairman blog. It took me forever to find anything familiar, and all formatted differently. Someone, please help me to maneuver around here, or is it easier than it looks?
Well, it’s certainly more time-consuming, Violet! Perhaps that is the method to the madness of so many more threads….to make us spend longer hours on this website! It can try one’s patience, that’s for sure, especially when it’s hectic in “realville!” I do try to stop in as often as possible, but sometimes it’s just not realistic to pour over the entire contents in order to keep in touch with one’s favorites! By the way, I did finally reply to your—and others—-responses on the “facial hair inquiry” subject. Hope it posts and gets through to your inbox! Later……
Would you like to know the real reason why she left gh ??? I feel like I have been driven back in time same old same old good luck ! Eric got his way still a washed up actor who is so intimated that he is what he is yesterday’s news they look like a bunch of wrinkling old people ! The old and the useless
I never doubt your astute insights, Kay! You are definitely on to something, although I also think that a certain someone didn’t appreciate the competition at GH from another nameless soap queen who has managed to grab both the spotlight and most of the show’s acting accolades. (Not that I care for her either….) There were also whispers that extreme displeasure with one of the current major storylines factored into the departure, and that makes sense, too, when you ponder the recent hot burner tale being told. Plus, I imagine that the almighty $, not to mention, regaining one’s former position of prominence, played into the decision, as well. As a GH fan who was quite gladdened by this development, the “whys” matter none to me—just the end result—although I do feel for Gina Tognoni’s considerable fanbase and the actress herself. She truly got a raw deal.
My best moment was when Phyllis stalked Cricket and Paul on their honeymoon, showing up everywhere they went, including putting little creatures in their bed.
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.
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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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.
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers
B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run
DANCING WITH THE STARS: A Shocking Elimination on Grammy Night Leaves Ballroom Silenced
Y&R’s New Head Writers Share Vision for Genoa City: Contemporary Homage to Bill Bell, Mixing Heightened Escapism and Grounded Reality
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos
‘Days of our Lives’ Celebrates 61st Anniversary: EP Ken Corday Teases New Character’s Arrival in Spring 2027
‘Days of our Lives’ Kyle Pryor Debuts as Dominic Marino and Says of Alleged TV Mom, “Deidre Hall is the Absolute OG, Amazing” (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
Y&R’s Matt Cohen Talks Role as Compassionate Zookeeper in Rom-Com ‘Christmas at the Zoo’
Alice Halsey Returns to ‘Days of our Lives’ as Rachel Black – Find Out How Long!
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