Fans of The Young and the Restless are happy to see Christel Khalil every time she makes a brief return as Genoa City favorite Lily Winters. So, they'll be happy to hear that once the show returns from its current hiatus, she's likely to factor into story pretty heavily.
In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Khalil dishes on her recent return to the CBS soap opera. She reveals that she had been considering moving from Toronto (where she lives with her ten-year-old son, Michael Caden, and her boyfriend, Sam Restagnoa) back to Los Angeles when Y&R's co-executive producer and head writer, Josh Griffith, mentioned that he wanted to bring Lily back for a much longer stay.
"I happened to run into Josh in the hallway at Y&R shortly after New Year's Day and he was like, 'I have this really exciting storyline, I think you'll love it,' " Khalil recalls. "I was really excited. It's like home there, so it was nice to even be thought of for a new storyline... [Living in Canada] has been great, but I miss working and being on the show."
As fans may recall, before Y&R ran out of new episodes due to the coronavirus shutdown, Lily was getting into big business and running a media company with Billy (Jason Thomson) -- which is a dream storyline for the actress.
"It's something I've always wanted for Lily, so it's nice to actually have that. Plus, I thought it was great for there to be a job to show more women in power as well, which is something that Josh was really wanting to do," she shares. "I mean, this is better just because Lily is the one calling the shots rather than following other people or being an employee! She is now the employer. It's really cool."
As for when Khalil will make the big leap back to LA and step back into the shoes of Lily, the actress isn't sure. Much like the rest of the world, she is currently sheltering in place and isn't sure what the future will bring.
"I'm back in Toronto with my family right now," she shares. "We still have plans to move to L.A. this summer, although I don't know when because of this whole drama. But it'll be great to really be back full time."
For more from Khalil on her return to Y&R, check out Soap Opera Digest's full interview with the actress here.
How do you feel about Y&R decision to bring Christel Khalil back on a more long-term basis? Are you happy to see the character breaking into big business alongside Jason Thompson's Billy? 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.
