Linden Ashby is just as surprised as fans by his return to The Young and the Restless following his departure last year — and there’s more to come.
Warning: Spoilers below for the Thursday, August 1, episode of The Young and the Restless.
Noting he never thought he’d return to the soap opera after his character, Cameron Kirsten, was fatally stabbed in 2023, Ashby applauded the way that writers worked around his demise.
“It’s great because it’s not back from the dead,” Ashby, 64, told TV Insider of his Thursday comeback.
The Emmy nominee noted that his reincarnation is “not a ghost.” He explained, “It’s a person who is living in Sharon’s head and is aware that he’s living in her head and aware that he doesn’t exist. And that adds a huge wrinkle.”
Ashby made his Young and the Restless debut in 2003 and remained on the show throughout the following year. After a nearly 20-year break, he reprised the role in 2023, once again playing Sharon Newman’s (Sharon Case) obsessed stalker.
During a June 2023 episode, Cameron was killed off and both viewers and Sharon thought they’d seen the end of him. However, during Thursday’s episode, Cameron returned as a figment of Sharon’s imagination — and he’s not done haunting her dreams just yet.
“The abusive parts are gone,” Ashby said of the “dream” version of Cameron. “I don’t think he has the same level of threat that he did in real life. It’s Sharon’s idea of Cameron.”
The actor teased, “He’s a manifestation of her internal world, to help her give voice to things that she’s afraid to say out loud, things she’s afraid to do. He’s that person who’s encouraging her to do things that maybe she shouldn’t be doing. It’s not quite what Cameron would do, but who knows what Cameron would do — it’s what Sharon believes Cameron would do.”
Since Cameron’s onscreen death, Sharon has been on a downward spiral, trying to navigate the pain he left in his wake. While his character previously terrorized Sharon, Ashby said his costar Case, 53, has continued to be a great scene partner.
“She’s doing such a great job,” he gushed. “She’s a friend, she welcomes me back with open arms, and I welcome her with an open heart. We get along great.”
Ashby has also enjoyed being back on set with his real-life wife, Susan Walters, who plays Diane Jenkins on the soap.
“Look, I have so much fun doing this,” he shared. “I really like everybody on the set. I like my family here, real and imagined. And any time I get to carpool with Susan, it’s a good day. She’s so helpful and I’m lucky I have a built-in acting partner.”
As for what fans can expect from Cameron 2.0, Ashby teased that it’s only the beginning. “I’ve read quite a bit ahead. I know where certain things are going and it’s pretty good stuff,” he added. “I love good stories; that’s what’s fun to me.”
The Young and the Restless airs on CBS weekdays at 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT.
