Don Diamont joins Y&R family to celebrate Beth and Eileen’s 40th anniversary at the soap
The Abbott sisters – Traci and Ashley – might be vastly different on the screen but their actors Beth Maitland and Eileen Davidson have a lot in common, the most remarkable one being their debut on Y&R. The on-screen siblings joined Y&R 40 years ago, just a couple of days apart, in recognition of which Y&R aired a standalone episode on Friday, June 17th. Y&R took the viewers down memory lane by re-airing iconic moments of the Abbott sisters as they looked back on the good times and the bad.
Y&R aired a standalone episode on June 17th to cherish the Abbott sisters’ journey so far
As we’ve said earlier, Traci and Ashley are vastly different, at least their dating history tells so.
However, there was one man who was lucky enough to have kindled a relationship with both the ladies – the late Brad Carlton. Thus he was an obvious part of Friday’s standalone episode when Y&R honored Beth and Eileen’s 40 years on the show.
Today on #YR, Traci and Ashley reminisce about their lives, loves and losses. Watch all of the amazing flashbacks on today's special episode honoring the 40 year history of two iconic Y&R stars: https://t.co/Zt0AZT8wss pic.twitter.com/4ORg79I5So
— Young and Restless (@YandR_CBS) June 17, 2022
The standalone episode’s air date coincided with Beth Maitland’s Y&R anniversary day, which is June 17th. Eileen’s anniversary day was just a week ahead on June 11th. The castmates had an off-screen celebration beforehand, on the same day as this special episode was taped.
Several Y&R actors attended the on-set party, including Brad actor Don Diamont as well.
Don returned to Y&R for the first time since his character’s death during a B&B crossover in early 2021 when Summer flew to LA to meet Eric Forrester. This was the second time he returned to the Y&R set.
Beth Maitland was overwhelmed with joy to reunite with Don Diamont
Don shared pictures of him with his Y&R castmates on Instagram last week and revealed it was a “great joy and privilege” for him to be part of the “well deserved” celebration of Beth and Eileen.
“CONGRATULATIONS to two exceptional talents and women! 🙌🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼❤️,” he wrote.
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Meanwhile, Beth revealed in her interview with SoapHub that she was joyfully overwhelmed that Don was a part of this all.
“Don, well, he’ll always be Brad to me! What he had to say to [both Eileen and me] was remarkably emotional. He said, ‘Working with Beth taught me up to be the actor I am.’ For him to be eager – not just willing – to give me credit for our formative years together and appreciate me…he said he thinks about me all the time and was able to move on and play an entirely different character. It was so surprising. Water kept running down my face!” she said.
Last Friday’s episode was really a sight for sore eyes for those who missed watching Beth’s romantic side, although it was just in flashback scenes. If you haven’t watched the episode yet, you can catch up with it at CBS’s official website.