Soap Hub Performer of the Week for Y&R: Kate Linder

The Young and the Restless viewers know that Esther Valentine loves her family and has a long history in Genoa City as a former housekeeper at the Chancellor mansion. However, she’s not often on-screen, so when we saw Esther stop by Crimson Lights for coffee this week, we felt delighted to see her. For that, Soap Hub presents Performer of the Week honors for Y&R on Esther’s portrayer, Kate Linder.

Kate Linder – Performer Of The Week

Esther cleaned and managed Katherine Chancellor’s (Jeanne Cooper) massive home for years. Upon Kay’s death, Esther became a rich woman, and she even owns part of the Chancellor mansion. She lived there until Abby Newman Chancellor (Melissa Ordway) and Chance Chancellor (Connor Floyd) married and took residence.

We smiled when we saw Kate Linder at the coffee shop with Sharon Rosales (Sharon Case). We love how her performance made us feel about Esther — a character she’s portrayed since 1982. She brought Esther’s love for her growing grandchildren, Bella and Miles, to life for us. We loved hearing that she bought out the whole toy store for them for Christmas, even though we felt confident that was a slight exaggeration. Seeing Esther doing something like grabbing a cup of coffee after Christmas shopping made us nostalgic for Y&R’s earlier years, and we want to see more of her in storylines.

Considering Abby’s money, we’re not quite sure why Esther, Chloe Mitchell Fisher (Elizabeth Hendrickson), Kevin Fisher (Greg Rikaart), and their two lovely children had to move to a smaller place. We’d love to see much more of Esther, along with her family, on-screen in the future. We hope that the holidays will bring some family scenes for the Valentine-Fisher family. Even though it was just just a small scene, Kate Linder brought her all this week, and we loved it.

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.