The Young and the Restless welcomes back a familiar face in Hayley Erin this week.
Hayley played Abby back in the day but isn’t taking the role away from Melissa Ordway.
Instead, she returns to Genoa City in a brand-new role that Hayley couldn’t be more excited about.
Hayley originates the character of Claire Grace, who makes waves at Newman Media.
A Y&R preview video gave fans a first look at Hayley as Claire.
Now, the actress has opened up about returning to the show that started her soap opera career.
Hayley Erin opens up about returning to The Young and the Restless
Speaking with Soap Opera Digest, Hayley reflected on the first time she was on the hit CBS soap. Hayley was just a teenager during her first Y&R stint, which was challenging for her.
“The first time I was on the show, I was so young and I’d really only done comedy before, so walking into Y&R was really intimidating to me and challenging in so many ways. I wasn’t prepared for the emotional nature of the material,” she expressed.
Hayley admitted she felt more prepared for the soap world when she played Kiki Jerome on General Hospital. The talented actress was excited for the challenge of the ABC soap.
Being back on The Young and the Restless, Hayley’s ready to use everything she learned over the past 15 years. For Hayley, who’s now married to Irish actor Adam Fergus, life has changed so much. They are parents to 2-year-old twin daughters Maude and Juno.
Hayley’s The Young and the Restless comeback reunited her with her former General Hospital costars Brytni Sarpy (Elena) and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis). Plus, she gets to hang with one of her real-life besties, Camryn Grimes.
The actress has also given insight into what she likes about Claire.
Hayley Erin teases new character Claire Crace on The Young and the Restless
Unlike other characters she has played before, Claire is a very savvy businesswoman, which is something Hayley loves about her alter ego because she hasn’t played it before.
“She’s smart and driven — and a lot more put together than I am!” Hayley shared with SOD.
Hayley even joked that Claire wears business suits while she’s a T-shirt and jeans woman all the way.
When she begins working as Nikki’s assistant, Claire is immediately thrown into the drama between Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and Audra (Zuleyka Silver). There’s been a lot of speculation that Claire will catch the eye of either Adam (Mark Grossman) now that he’s Nate’s (Sean Dominic) assistant.
Only time will tell what kind of trouble Claire stirs up, but we are excited to have Hayley back on the show!
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS.