Plans to have Lauralee Bell reprise her role as Christine in time for The Young and the Restless‘ 35th anniversary celebration have now been scrapped. The 39-year-old actress has turned down the opportunity to return on the long running soap on a recurring basis despite the convincing power of her own mother, Young and the Restless co-creator Lee Phillip Bell, and the pleadings of sister-in-law Maria Arena Bell, the show’s new co-head writer.
“I’ve never been pressured so much in the nicest way than when I was asked to come back,” Lauralee Bell told Soap Opera Digest.
In the most recent issue of Soap Opera Digest, which hit newsstands yesterday, Bell reveals why she turned down the offer and shares her sentiments about the possibility of an eventual return to Genoa City after nearly two years of absence.
Bell joined The Young and the Restless as model Christine “Cricket” Blair in 1983. She was eventually offered a contract three years later, and over time, her character matured from a model into a legal aid lawyer.
Controversy arose when former co-star Terry Lesyer, who previously played Jack Abbot, left the program, and complained in the press that Bell had been given excess airtime at the expense of himself and other actors. In January 2005, Bell asked to be released from her contract, and has only appeared on a recurring basis since then.
After The Young and the Restless, Bell was cast in Past Sins and had a guest role on CSI: Miami. Recently, she played Christine for a short run on The Bold and the Beautiful instead of The Young and the Restless.
At present, Bell is juggling acting, operating a clothing store and spending time with her family, though Bell has made it clear that her family, composed of husband Scott Martin and children Christian and Samantha, is her top priority.
-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Soap Opera Digest
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
