Fans still reeling over this weekend's announcement by Richard Burgi that he was "moving on" from The Young and the Restless should prepare for another shock. The role has been recast.
Guiding Light alum Robert Newman (Josh Lewis) has been tapped to take over the role, beginning next month. Newman made his debut on Guiding Light in 1981 and -- with a handful of short-term exits -- remained with the CBS soap through its 2009 finale.
With Burgi out, many Y&R fans wondered what would become of Ashland. Would the experimental cancer treatment that he had been receiving stop working? Would the character simply walk out on his marriage to Victoria? But the question most fans wanted to know was why Burgi was unexpectedly released from the show.
Burgi took to Instagram Tuesday evening to clarify the events that led to his dismissal. In an Instagram story, Burgi said that he "naively and inadvertently violated the show's COVID policy."
In the video, Burgi stated that he returned to the East Coast over the Christmas break to visit his 97-year-old mother. Somewhere around Christmas, Burgi said that he tested positive for COVID. After testing positive, Burgi stated that he "took the necessary five days [of quarantine] the CDC recommends" before reporting back to work at Y&R, where he subsequently tested negative for COVID on two consecutive days. The five-day quarantine, according to Burgi, was not in line with the ten-day policy set by Y&R.
"I felt terrible about it. I still do. It bothers me mightily, but it is what it is," Burgi said. "I respect whatever the show's decision is. They are doing the best they can, as we all are."
Burgi went on to wish Newman well in taking over the role of Ashland and praised "the most incredible actress and great, great cast" at Y&R.
For his part, Newman took to Facebook to discuss joining the Y&R cast.
“Thanks to everyone for the sweet posts and messages about my joining the cast of Y&R,” Newman shared. “I couldn’t be more pleased. I’ve had great respect for the show and [its] wonderful cast for many, many years. I’m happy to be a part of it."
Newman said that he had a "lovely Zoom meeting" with [co-executive producer and head writer ] Josh Griffith and [executive producer] Anthony Morina.
"We talked quite a bit about the character, and I’m very excited by the scripts I’m getting so far. I’m scared to death, of course, but I think that’s healthy," Newman continued. "It’ll be a new adventure and I’m feeling pretty blessed to have the opportunity. Cheers!”
Newman will make his Y&R debut on Wednesday, February 9. It is unclear how long Newman will be sticking around on Y&R.
Soap Central reached out to both CBS and Sony Pictures Television. Both declined to comment.
Photo of Robert Newman: LPKim Photography
What do you think of the decision to recast Ashland? Are you excited to see a Guiding Light fave back on-screen? 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.
