Breaking News: Former Y&R Head Writer Returns As Story Consultant

On the heels of announcing that Chuck Pratt was no longer with The Young and the Restless and Sally Sussman would be the new head writer comes word that former head writer Kay Alden will be returning to the show as a story consultant.

According to daytimeconfidential.com, the head of CBS Daytime and CBS Entertainment Executive Vice-President Angelica McDaniel made the following announcement.

“Welcoming Kay back to The Young and the Restless, joining Sally Sussman and Mal Young [executive producer], continues our commitment to telling the most powerful stories while honoring the legacy of daytime’s No. 1 drama.”

It is unknown at this time when she will begin working with Sussman, but according to the article, she’s very excited about it: “I am so thrilled to be working with Kay again. I can’t ever imagine doing Y&R without her.”

In the Beginning
Alden joined the show six months after it took to the airwaves in 1973. While at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she had written her Communication Arts dissertation for her Ph.D. on her favorite subject — soap operas. “Daytime Serials as Mediators of Social Change” was what it was titled, and in writing it she had managed to get a meeting with William J. Bell, the creator and head writer of The Young and the Restless. Impressed with the student, he invited her to write a sample script for him, and, as they say — the rest is history.

Getting Bold
She served in different capacities on the writing team until 1997, when she became co-head writer in preparation for Bell’s stepping down in 1998, when she would hold the title by herself. She left the show in 2006. In 2007, she joined Bell’s son, Bradley Bell on Y&R’s sister show, The Bold and the Beautiful, as co-head writer and stayed until 2013.

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