Soap Hub Performer of the Week For The Young and the Restless: Amelia Heinle

Like her father, Victor, Victoria Newman hides behind a strong professional business persona, but underneath, she has a myriad of emotions at play. While viewers of The Young and the Restless know Victoria to be a savvy businesswoman, they also know that she’s got a lot of issues she’s dealing with on the inside — most notably, her feelings of affection for her ex-husband, Billy (Jason Thompson).

Amelia Heinle — Performer of the Week For Y&R

It took Victoria a while to share her true frame of mind with Billy, but the reveal was worth the wait. For a series of performances that were at times understated and at times passionate, Soap Hub bestows Performer of the Week for YR honors on two-time Daytime Emmy-winner Amelia Heinle.

Recently, Lily (Christel Khalil) saw through Victoria’s attempt to dissuade her relationship with Billy after the Newman heiress tried to point out she didn’t think Billy was ever going to fully change.

Determined to help Billy, who is in competition to acquire Cyaxares, a huge communications company, Victoria threw her hat in the ring. Initially, she had no interest in the media entity but then realized if she acquired it for Newman, she could keep Billy from going head-to-head against Adam (Mark Grossman), who is also vying for Cyaxares. It would also keep Adam and her father from going after Billy.

Victoria took a meeting with Ashland Locke (Richard Burgi), the current owner of Cyaxares, in his hotel suite to present her offer. He was intrigued by her presentation and suggested they continue to discuss the matter over dinner.

Realizing that dinner has the potential to turn into, shall we say, “dessert,” Victoria deftly suggested that breaking bread with both Ashland and his wife, Tara (Elizabeth Leiner), would be a great idea.

After exiting Ashland’s hotel room, Victoria returned to her office (or Victor’s, if you ask him!). There, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) lamented to her daughter that while other families play board games, the Newmans buy companies. Victoria playfully shrugged — purchasing businesses was more fun!

Love Never Dies

But this is far more than a game for Victoria. She believes she’s helping Billy by going after Locke’s company. When he came to her office and confronted her, Victoria tried to deflect his concerns. Eventually, she broke down and burst out that the reason she was helping Billy was because she still loved him!

Heinle played the moment perfectly — as it seemed to shock Victoria as much as Billy that she revealed her true feelings. Billy was stunned to learn this, but Lily (and viewers) suspected this all along. Clearly, the story of “Villy” is far from over — and fans can look forward to far more from Heinle’s Victoria as she deals with the fallout. The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.