The storyline clock has been turned back to the mid-1990s on The Young and the Restless. Lauralee Bell, who plays Christine (AKA Cricket) is back in a triangle with her ex-Danny Romalotti and his ex, Phyllis Summers. Soap Hub recently caught up with Bell on a red carpet and chatted with her about what could turn this classic triangle into a very familiar quadrangle.
Lauralee Bell: The Paul Williams Factor
“It’s incredible when we go back and look at old episodes,” Bell says of the Christine/Danny/Phyllis dynamic that’s playing out today. It all began back in 1994 when Danny sent then-wife Christine an overnight letter, announcing that their marriage was over! Danny (Michael Damian) was living in New York City while performing in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when groupie Phyllis seduced him and became pregnant with his son (or so Danny was led to believe!).
A few years later, the truth came out — Phyllis had lied about sleeping with Danny, Daniel (Michael Graziadei) is not his son, and Danny had never been unfaithful to Christine. Alas, it was too late for a Danny/Christine reunion as she had moved on with her life and married Paul Williams (Doug Davidson).
“There’s this through line linking it all together,” Bell says. “That was us then. And just like life…turns and twists happen. Things you don’t expect. Here [Danny and Christine] are finding each other again at important times in our lives.”
Phyllis, however, is anxious to keep Danny and Christine apart as they’ve been growing closer once more. If her current play for him doesn’t work, Phyllis might take another path and reach out to Paul. If she were to lure him back to Genoa City from his overseas residence there’s a chance he and Chris could reunite. “Would [Paul] take the call?” Bell rhetorically asks. “I would hope so!”
Davidson spoke exclusively to Soap Hub earlier this year about his exit from the show. He didn’t anticipate a return happening in the near future. However, now, the stage has been set for Paul to come back and play a big part in an ongoing story. Not only do fans want him back in Genoa City but it’s very likely that Phyllis does too! While the red-haired troublemaker would be the one to start communications with Paul, it makes more sense that a real-life call would be made by Bell to her former leading man. “Trust me, I’m trying,” Bell says with a smile.
In the meantime, there’s plenty of conflict going on with the trio as evidenced by Christine dropping by to see her ex at Christmastime with a gift. Danny’s politeness towards Phyllis begs the question — why? After all, she schemed and lied to him (including about him having a son) all to upend his life. Why is Danny so nice to her?
“No matter how old your child is or if he’s your biological child or not, you raised this child and Danny did [and does] everything he can to make a cohesive [family] environment,” Bell offers. “I think [Daniel and Lucy, played by Lily Brooks O’Briant] are a big draw. [Also,] Phyllis puts on her best show around them.”
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