The Young and the Restless News: Eric Braeden Prepares to Return to Work With New Look

Reports continue to say that the gang at The Young and the Restless is headed back to work on Tuesday. And one of the show’s top stars, Eric Braeden, prepared to be camera ready!

Eric Braeden Is Ready For His Close Up

“Final haircut before going back to work!!!” Braeden posted on Twitter along with a photo in which he is at a salon, ready to get his hair trimmed.

Eric Braeden joined the show over 40 years ago when YR was expanding to an hour. The show introduced the powerful mogul Victor Newman and viewers learned his wife, Julia (Meg Bennett), was in an unhappy marriage. Victor went to great lengths to seek revenge against Julia’s lover Michael Scott (Nick Benedict) and locked him in his basement and fed him rats!

YR creator/head writer/senior executive producer William J. Bell saw in Braeden someone far more than a villain in a short-term storyline. He created a backstory for Victor in which viewers learned that he’d been born Christian Miller and was left in an orphanage when he was a little boy because his poor mother Cora (Dorothy McGuire) couldn’t afford to keep him any longer.

Victor’s humanity being established enticed Braeden to remain with the show. Over the years, he’s closed many business deals, loved many women, but his true love is, of course, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott). The two have been married many times and remain the show’s longest-running couple.

Eric Braeden won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Victor in 1998. The actor is one of the most recognizable faces across the world and is proof positive that soaps are not just a genre for women — there’s room for powerful and dynamic male characters as well. Stay tuned to see what’s next for Victor when YR returns with new episodes. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for air times.