Bill Inoshita/CBS
California Here We Come: Michael Damian and Lauralee Bell on the B&B set during their visit to Y&R's sister show.
Danny and Christine’s recent surprise visit with Traci in Paris on Young and Restless inspired the couple’s crossover to sister soap Bold And Beautiful , which is scheduled to air on August 13 and 14. According to Lauralee Bell (Christine), the stopover in the City of Light was a unique moment for the audience as well as for them. “That's what's so great about having a show that's been on for so long,” enthuses the actress. “The viewers get how intense that connection [between old friends] is. It was so fun to be there and to just be happy as our normal Danny/Cricket flirty selves. [Danny’s] tour is making us a different couple.”
A Los Angeles Adventure
Her brother, Bradley Bell, the executive producer and head writer for B&B, came up with the idea for the duo to make another stop, this time on his show. “Brad was in his office and saw us taping the Paris stuff,” she explains. “He called and said, ‘Hey, this is just so cool and authentic. Of course [Danny and Christine] would be stopping in different cities. Where are you going next?’ And I was like, ‘I don't know,’ and he said, ‘Well, maybe I can make it work that you guys would stop in L.A.,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, that would be cool!’ He said, ‘Well, let me think this through for a couple of days.’ Then we talked and we were like, ‘Dad [William J. Bell, co-creator for both Y&R and B&B] would have done something cool like this; a fun summer moment.’ ”
Brad Bell wanted to go the extra mile and have Michael Damian, who plays rock star Danny Romalotti, perform on B&B. “Danny hasn't sung on Y&R for a long time,” Damian points out. “What's crazy is that that I was working on a 2024 remix of ‘Rock On’ [the 1973 song that was a hit for David Essex, then became a chart-topper in 1989 as sung by Damian], and then they said, ‘Hey, would you want to do "Rock On" on Bold And Beautiful ?' I said, ‘Well, it’s funny that you asked that question because I'm actually working on it right now! It's coming out next week.’ And so the timing was perfect.”
It was a bit of a head-scratcher to figure out how and why Danny would break out in song. Says Bell, “I know Brad was trying to figure out how to make [Danny’s performance] as real as possible and, of course, that would be to do a concert. But how do we do this in the Forrester place? And then Michael sent this really cool visual.”
Damian picks up, “It was a clip I saw on Instagram that day of Elton John grabbing the mic at a party and singing with the DJ, and I said, ‘What about [something like] this to make it organic?’ and so they wrote it in. The party event is really fun. I never worked with all of these characters," an assortment that includes B&B mainstays Eric, Brooke and Ridge.
Return Engagement
Lauralee Bell had already made a visit to B&B in 2007 her lawyer character traveled from Genoa City to represent Ridge, who was charged with first-degree murder. “I mostly worked with Ronn Moss [then-Ridge],” she points out. “I never even got to work with Katherine [Kelly Lang, Brook]. When you go on another set, you're already nervous, thinking, ‘Oh, I hope I don't disappoint.’ But to take the legal aspect out of it this time was a gift. It was so much fun to come back. There's a very, very brief thing where Ridge [now played by Thorsten Kaye] and Christine acknowledge each other because the audience is very smart. They will not let you forget something like that.”
In the story, Danny has performed at a concert the night before in L.A. when he receives an invitation for him and Christine to attend a soiree at the Forrester manse. When the couple arrives, it becomes clear why their presence was requested. They offer Danny something and it’s a deal he can’t refuse,” Damian hints. “He says, ‘I've got my lawyer with me so I can negotiate a deal right here.’ The paperwork was simple and the DJ starts to play another song of mine.”
Which presents the opportunity for Danny to belt out a Romalotti classic. Describes Bell, “The whole Forrester family is there and at first, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I was like, ‘Are the Forresters going to be bopping around?’ And they do! Danny and Christine are in their place and there's all this dancing and singing. It was just so fun. I think even people that only watch Bold and Beautiful will appreciate seeing the Forresters in kind of a different light.”
Damian adds, “You’ll see us interact with Ridge and Brooke, and we see Donna and Mr. Forrester.” Teases his leading lady with a chuckle, "He’s very respectful. He won’t call him ‘Eric.’ ” “Well, yeah," responds Damian. "I won’t say, ‘Yo, Eric! What’s up [ laughs ]!' ”
Group Hug
Laurelee Bell was delighted by how much of B&B cast was on hand for the well-attended bash. “We got very lucky with that,” she acknowledges. “Almost everybody was there, so there was a lot of people for us to talk to.”
During rehearsals, Damian coaxed the B&B actors to fill in as his backup vocals. “We got them to sing [singing the lyrics], ‘Blue jean, baby queen, prettiest girl I ever seen,’ ” he recalls. “They went all out. No one was shy or said, ‘I don’t dance to Danny Romalotti.’ It was great!”
Surprisingly, the guest stars didn’t see B&B’s big boss while they were shooting their scenes. “Brad was out of town for his 60th birthday, so he wasn’t there,” says his little sister. “[But] he really wants our [Y&R] audience to tune in and watch this."
As for when Y&R fans will see the duo back at home in Genoa City, Bell reports, "In real life, Michael is about to leave and make another movie. So we’ll be back working [on Y&R] hopefully in November.”
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