Michelle Stafford Reflects on Returning to ‘Young and the Restless’

Meredith Jacobs June 20, 2019, 2:00 pm

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Michelle Stafford returns to The Young and the Restless in Friday’s episode, and she’s ready to step back into Phyllis’s shoes.

Stafford played the character from 1994 to 1997, and from 2000 to 2013, with Sandra Nelson and Gina Tognoni each taking over the role during Stafford’s departures. Tognoni’s last episode as Phyllis aired June 7.

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Though it’s been six years since Stafford worked on The Young and the Restless, Stafford told Extra that “nothing has really changed,” adding, “I think it’s something here at CBS Television City that makes people just ageless. I’m staying.”

She might have years of experience in the role, but she didn’t expect it to be easy to reprise the character, especially after her five years as Nina on General Hospital.

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“I knew it would be difficult, because I had been playing another role that was so opposite Phyllis,” she said. “Honestly, I spent a really long time researching and reading everything that had happened to the character, watching every show I could while I was away.”

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💋 #YR https://t.co/Nzz1qkb3ug

— Michelle Stafford (@TheRealStafford) June 17, 2019

And in her return as Phyllis, fans can expect to see the character “really controlling her life again and possibly the town,” the actress revealed.

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Ahead of her return, CBS released a video in which Stafford takes a look back at her first day and some of her previous scenes on The Young and the Restless.

The actress won two Daytime Emmys (in 1997 and 2004) and was nominated nine other times (including for the Special Fan Award Irresistible Combination with Peter Bergman) for her work on the CBS soap.

The Young and the Restless, Weekdays, CBS