Soap Hub Performer of the Week for Y&R: Susan Walters

The Young and the Restless viewers know that Diane Jenkins ended her last time in Genoa City with basically everyone hating her. However, now she’s had therapy, and she’s revealed herself to Jack Abbott, hoping to reconnect with their son, Kyle Abbott. For her performance, Soap Hub Performer of the Week honors for Y&R is presented to Diane’s portrayer, Susan Walters.

Susan Walters — Y&R Performer of the Week

The last time Walters’s version of Diane was on the soap in March of 2010, things were a lot different. Then, Maura West (Ava Jerome, General Hospital) took over the role, ultimately leading to Diane’s “death,” which we now know was faked with the help of Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan).

Although returning from the dead on a soap opera is rather awkward, Waters handled it beautifully, stepping right back into the character of Diane. She cozied up to Jack’s (Peter Bergman) newly discovered granddaughter Allie Nguyen (Kelsey Wang) in hopes of ingratiating herself to him. It didn’t take too long for Diane to reveal what she wants out of finally revealing herself to Jack — a second chance with Kyle (Michael Mealor). Not surprisingly, Jack didn’t want to help Diane get access to their son.

Susan Walters came off as entirely credible as Diane. Perhaps the fact that she’s not the actress who portrayed Diane’s death helps keep it somewhat more believable. With the flashbacks and Walters’s delivery while talking to Jack and remembering things, we feel right back in the thick of things for Diane and Jack. Certainly, she’s bringing her great acting skills back to the canvas to help shake things up in Genoa City. We can’t wait to see what she does next. Bravo on a wonderful performance the first week back on the show!

The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Genoa City, check out all the latest that’s been posted on Y&R spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.