MICHAEL DAMIAN ON Y&R RETURN

Although he's been back several times to reprise Danny Romalotti in recent years, Michael Damian reports that this latest return is very different.

"I'm usually brought in for anniversaries or parties or big events like that, so this is the first time in a long while that it's just Danny visiting Genoa City for no other reason than to see his family," says the actor/singer. "Last time, I had scenes with Lauralee [Bell, Christine] where Danny and Cricket talked about old times but it was a little awkward for them. She was still with Paul, and Danny could tell she was a little uncomfortable talking to him. Then she gave him a ride to the airport and we never knew what they talked about during that drive. So Josh [Griffith, co-executive producer/head writer] created a nice little setup to come back to."

As usual, returning to Y&R came down to timing for Damian, who has been a busy movie producer and director for years. "When I'm in the middle of making a movie, I'm usually in another country so it's pretty hard for me to get away," he explains. "I was in Paris and New York all this summer finishing up with directing PARIS CHRISTMAS WALTZ, and now that we're in post-production, I have a lot more flexibility. So I had a nice block of time to devote to Y&R."