Lauralee Bell Previews ‘Y&R’ Holiday Episode: Will Phyllis Ruin Christine’s Reunion With Danny?

Michael Maloney December 21, 2023, 9:30 am

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This Friday, December 22 is Lauralee Bell’s (Christine Blair Williams) real-life birthday, but it’s longtime Young and the Restless viewers who are getting the present. That’s the day that not only does Christine reunite with her ex-husband Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian) but she’ll also have a terse encounter with longtime nemesis Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford).

Veteran viewers recall Phyllis lying about Danny impregnating her with her son Daniel, which resulted in the rock star and the attorney splitting up. Even though Phyllis’s machinations were ultimately exposed, a reunion for Danny and Christine wasn’t in the cards as she’d moved on and wed Paul Williams (Doug Davidson). Paul and Chris have subsequently split, which has set the stage for a Danny/Christine reunion.

Bell previews the holiday encounter that’s both merry and tense. Read on for the scoop, plus watch an exclusive sneak peek of Christine and Danny above.

These revisited dynamics among Christine and Danny – and now, Phyllis – began almost a year ago when Danny came back for a visit. Now, the old love and the old rivalry are heating up again.

Lauralee Bell: I’m so excited about this. People who work on the show [in post-production] were coming up to me after they’d worked on the episode and told me how special it is.

The holidays were always special for Danny and Cricket.

Yes! We’d be all about the tree and what we were going to cook. Cricket didn’t grow up with a family, so it was always lovely for her to be included in Danny’s family. Katherine [the late Jeanne Cooper], Rex [the late Quinn Redeker] – everyone would come over to their place.

Can you set up the episode?

Christine gets so excited about finding something and giving it to Danny. She’s thinking, “They’re finally in the same city!” However, she forgets that Danny has this family [with his son, Daniel, played by Michael Graziadei, and Daniel’s mother, Phyllis]. She’s expecting Danny to open the door, and she walks in on the whole gang having their time together. She thinks, “Oh. Maybe I’m interfering?”

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After some words are exchanged back and forth [between Christine and Phyllis], the family leaves. That gives [Danny and Christine] some nice alone time. Christine realizes that Danny’s family comes along with him. It’s a package deal. She’s going to have to deal with a lot of stuff [if she wants to be with him]. Phyllis is the obstacle.

Phyllis calls Christine “the Bug,” a nod to Cricket. Maybe Christine needs to have one for Phyllis?

[Laughs] I think that would be great!

Theirs is a fun dynamic to see revisited. One character is good, the other manipulative. It’s a classic set up. There’s just something about Christine that gets under Phyllis’s skin. It is fun to see these two women go at it.

I think that anything that goes deep [as their relationship does] never really ends. It makes perfect sense to pick it back up. [But] is Christine at a point where it’s not worth the aggravation? Yes, Christine has feelings for Danny, but how much can she take if Phyllis comes along with the deal?

It sounds like the stage is being set for this story to kick into gear in the coming weeks and months.

Yes. It’s the lull before the storm. This [holiday encounter] will only reignite the story. Phyllis is still relatively calm. But I think you’ll get everything in this episode. You’ll get a little bit of everything. There’s some good stuff coming up in 2024.

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