Daytime Vet Doug Davidson Breaks Silence On His Soap Status

Doug Davidson has been appearing sporadically on The Young and the Restless this year. Now, the actor finally explains what’s really happening.

Davidson, who’s been on Y&R since 1978 as Paul Williams, has been missed and fans recently started asking where his character has been.

After all but coming out and saying he was working without a contract in his tweets, Davidson shared with Soap Opera News that he is indeed a recurring player at Y&R.

“My contract was not renewed in January and I went on recurring status, but as it stands now I have only 2 shows left to air and no new dates,” Davidson told the site.

Soaps have always had cast turnover, but Y&R is known to have been more stable compared to others.

This year alone, viewers have seen the exits of Melissa Claire Egan (ex-Chelsea) and Mishael Morgan (ex-Hilary); Eileen Davidson (Ashley) announced that she’d be leaving the show in September; while Christel Khalil (Lily) has switched to recurring status.

Currently, Eric Braeden (Victor) has taken the month of September off from the show, which may place his character on the sidelines for part of the upcoming November sweeps period.

Davidson notes that the writing on Y&R has gone in a different direction, one that doesn’t necessarily include Paul. “It’s hard for me not to be emotional, period, in any circumstance,” Davidson said, “but I’ve been doing this show so long, I can’t help but be subjective.”

The actor’s not sure if Paul’s absence will be explained or if he’ll just fade into oblivion and concedes that running a soap opera is a Herculean task.

“A daily show is a monster,” Davidson says. “I know how hard it is on everyone. We must all believe everyone is doing the best they can.”

Davidson wants his fans to know that they’ve been his “rock” and thanks them for their long-running support.