Photo Credit: Steven Bergman
Well here is a bit of good news! With all the house cleaning speculation this week over at Y&R, now comes the news via TV Guide, that one of the shows most valuable assets and fan favorites, Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki Newman) has finally signed a new contract with the number one sudser, and will be back on-air in November starting around the Thanksgiving holiday!
As many know, Melody was last seen on the set of Y&R back in April and all of a sudden stopped getting scripts leading her and many to believe, perhaps we had seen the last of Nikki, especially since on-air she was sent off to rehab for her battle with booze!
In her feature with TVG, Melody clears the air a bit and teases what is to come when Nikki hits Genoa City again. Here are a few excerpts!
Melody on why she suddenly vanished from the soap and if it was all about financial restraints and budgetary problems at the soap: “ Yes, I do but it was not handled very well. I’ve been in this business since I was three and I know how this works. If a show is having problems with money or budget they call the actor very respectfully and say, “We have a little financial crunch here. Let’s try to work something out, okay?” That’s what should have happened. The problem was that such a phone call was never made to me and I was left in the lurch. Had they picked up the phone back in March or April and just said two or three sentences to me, none of this would have happened. But nobody said anything, and that started to get a little odd after a couple of weeks of not working. I would call in for my shooting schedule as I usually do and be told, “You have another week off.” And this kept happening week after week after week. Then the fans started paying attention to all this and were asking me, “Are you leaving the show?” I had no idea what to say or why I wasn’t working. Then all hell seemed to break lose. People were saying I had asked for a leave of absence. False. They were saying, “Oh, Melody, wants to spend time with her new grandbaby twins.” False. [Laughs] Well, of course I do want to spend time with them but I would never quit my job over it!”
Melody on what brings Nikki back to the canvas! “Well, apparently Nikki has been missing for a while. The rehab thing only lasted so long and now she’s disappeared and has been doing other things, which is what I can’t tell you about at this point. But when she finally comes home there are some very big issues going on with a lot of people and it will create big problems.”
So are you thrilled that Melody will be back on-air where she belongs on Y&R? Let us know!
Tom says: 
Michael 
Scott. 
Y&R fan 
ethel 
Torrey 
kay killgore 
nhuixnhuix 
Iakovos 
kalamaty 
Can’t wait!
lisa 
lisamaria 
Virginia Mason 
Dolores Bulles 
Mrs. B 
Roxanne Kuser