In 2009, it felt like CBS soaps would never be the same when The Young and the Restless' Brad Carlton was killed. Not long after, Don Diamont, who had brought Brad to life on Y&R since 1985, landed on Y&R's sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful. The rest is history.
Diamont made his B&B debut as Bill Spencer on May 12, 2009, and has been going strong ever since. Bill Spencer Sr. had recently passed away, so somebody had to pick up the family torch. That's when his never-before-seen son Bill Spencer Jr. arrived in Los Angeles to exact revenge on the Forrester clan.
"Frankly, it was very brave of [Executive Producer and Headwriter] Brad Bell to take the chance, given how little time had passed," Diamont told Soaps.com. "And for him to have the belief in me that I could pull this off? That means the world."
Bill's womanizing ways soon took center stage, as he couldn't keep his eyes off the Logan ladies. While Donna refused to give him the time of day, Bill married both Katie Logan and her sister, Brooke, and that drama gave the character years of story. We were also introduced to Bill's two adult sons he never even knew he had -- Liam and Wyatt. Bill also managed to fit in a fling with Steffy Forrester. A one-night stand with the younger woman led to the end of her marriage to Liam.
B&B's official Instagram account paid tribute to Diamont and his character with a slideshow full of snaps featuring Bill at his desk.
"Work Hard ✅ Play Hard ✅We're celebrating the one and only @dondiamont on 15 years with the #BoldandBeautiful family," B&B wrote.
Diamont responded with: "Thanks for the love @boldandbeautifulcbs! To all those who commented, I really appreciate you! Playing $Bill for the last 15 years has been without a doubt, the greatest joy of my career!"
Currently, Bill is romancing Poppy Nozawa. He even wondered if he fathered her adult daughter, Luna, but Poppy claimed he was not her baby daddy. Diamont thinks that Bill has come a long way over the last 15 years.
"When he first showed up, he was this loud New York billionaire who was a total playboy misogynist," Diamont told Soaps. "He still maintains some of those qualities, but we've seen his edges soften a little bit over the years. Now it's actually when those old tendencies rear up that he winds up in the most trouble."
Can you imagine B&B without Don Diamont now? What is your favorite Bill Spencer story? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
