The Young and the Restless’ Lauralee Bell and Michael Damien will be crossing over to The Bold and the Beautiful this week as Danny’s world tour brings the super couple to Los Angeles!
The TV Watercooler had the opportunity to catch up with Lauralee Bell to get a special preview of the musical performance in the Forrester mansion living room, how her brother Brad Bell approached her with the idea for the crossover and a touching moment from the set that reminded her of her parents – legendary soap creators William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell!
Christine is in her Groupie Era!
Thank God! I’ve waited for 40 years! Work was always first [for her] and I think it’s very true to life. People get to a point where they’re like, “You know, the clock is ticking, and I should have some fun!”
We last saw Danny (Michael Damien) and Cricket visiting Traci (Beth Maitland) in Paris on Y&R. Christine’s been out of the courtroom for a few months, did you take into account how much more relaxed she’d probably be right now?
Yeah! I mean, you continue to just work, and work and work, and life goes on! You know your wish list is still off to the side and you’re thinking, “What am I doing? Danny was in my life at the beginning and now there’s this opportunity to get a second chance to take him up on this offer that I didn’t do often when we were young.”
I see clips online where Cricket is saying “Good luck on tour! I’ll be here studying! Call me tomorrow.” Thank goodness that Josh Griffith [executive producer and head writer]and the writers decided to just say, “You gotta go! What are you waiting for?” Life is too short and it’s a chance of a lifetime, so I’m thrilled! I hope that when they come back to Genoa City, that mentality stays with her.
We constantly joke about wondering which city Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are in next, so we were trying to touch on that. ‘Okay, Danny and Cricket are in L.A. and are with the hottest people there!’ The Forresters have invited them over! Donna (Jennifer Gareis) is a secret fangirl!
These are some of the incredible opportunities you can take advantage of when you have sister shows like The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. It’s priceless for us to be able to mention Lauren Fenmore (Tracey E. Bregman; who has starred on both shows). It’s just great and the fans eat it up!
They’ve teased that Cricket will be wearing a “very rock star girlfriend” outfit. What can you share about that? Is it more glam or more refined?
It’s short! It’s less fabric than I would usually wear on Y&R. It reminded me of back when Cricket was off to the side at Danny’s concerts where her hair was, 90% of the time, kinked up five times its volume of where it normally was! In contrast to the business suits, she then wore.
This situation brings out the craziness in Cricket that used to live inside her and subsided for a while and now we get to see that that’s still inside of her, which is so much fun!
I have a whole bunch of fans that are calling themselves “The Bug Squad,” and they are all approximately my age and their kids are finally off to college and they can watch this soap again! They were around for Danny and Cricket’s first time and can’t believe that they are back together! They drink their wine at five o’clock, go to concerts, and hang out with their girlfriends. It’s just kind of a natural progression in life where you’re like, “Okay, I’ve got my life back and even though my number says I’m in my 50s or whatever, I still feel like I’m in my 20s, so let’s get the girls and go to a concert!”
It’s so cool that a lot of these fans have kind of come back now and I get to interact with them on Instagram, which we didn’t have back then! Thank God we didn’t have social media [back then]! But it’s cool to reunite with them and it’s super nice to hear them tell us know they’ve grown up with us! It kind of elevates it to a different level.
I love how they’ve taken “The Bug” for “The Bug Squad.” They’ve taken a term that Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) had negatively thrown at Christine and have taken it back!
Secretly, every time Michelle and I work together and she throws “The Bug” in there, I love it! It’s brilliant. It’s hysterical. I love that there’s a cricket emoji, so I’ve been using that a whole lot more lately on Instagram.
Danny and Cricket are invited to the Forrester Estate to celebrate the success of Brooke’s Bedroom line, and then Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) will be pitching them a new business venture. What can you share about that? Is Cricket returning to modelling?
Gosh, you know, I’ve teased that for a long time, but it’s not that! It has to do more with Danny’s music. It’ll be a collab and he’ll joke that he’s got his lawyer right here with him! So, when they present the deal, I’m quick to just have him sign on! It was so much fun.
On a personal level, I don’t remember so much of my childhood, but I clearly remember moving out here [for my parents, William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell] to start The Bold and the Beautiful and my dad coming up with Forrester Creations, the Forresters, and Brooke Logan. So, just seeing that cast come together [was great]. Katherine Kelly Lang and I have gotten pretty close over the past few years, so getting to work with them was so fun. I was so excited and almost had a teary moment when I read my lines and got to say, ‘Forrester Creations.’
Even though I was on before with Ronn Moss (ex-Ridge) and did the court thing, this time was very different. This was sort of much more reflective and fun. It was my type of shows to do. And for Michael to be able to be here, it was just meant to be because he had just finished re-recording “Rock On.” Brad (Bell; her brother and head writer/executive producer of B&B) had called and said, “I see that your characters are on a world tour, what’s your next stop?” I’m like, “I don’t know if we have one!” He’s like, “Well, it would just make so much sense to stop in L.A. and I’m not sure how I’m going to fit this in, but I’ve been wanting to bring you guys on, so this might be the perfect opportunity!”
It was pretty quiet for a week and then it happened!
I just saw the clips from our B&B appearance on Entertainment Tonight and it was exactly what my dad would have tried to have put in! Just this crazy and fun [appearance] and it worked out so authentically.
To separate myself as someone who has watched B&B my whole life, to be the two that come over there and truly have the Forresters rocking out in their living room [was incredible]. I looked around and couldn’t believe they were all dancing! It’s so funny to be on this very prestigious set where some big [scenes have taken place] and things have been so serious for the family at times, and now they’re all jumping up and down [together]. It was surreal! It was a fun experience and I’m thankful that it worked. I think it completely translates through the lens. It’ll be fun to watch, I haven’t seen all of it, so I’ll be watching it for the first time with all of you guys!
Did the ask to visit B&B come out of the blue for you?
I heard about a year ago from Annika Noelle (Hope) that there was a rumour on the internet that I was coming to B&B, and I replied, “If that’s true, I have no idea!” I said to Brad, “Hey! Are you thinking of bringing me back? Rumours are going around, and it would be nice to know so I could block out that time!” He’s like “Yeah, you know I’m always thinking about it, but I have no idea!” He saw that Cricket and Danny would be in Paris with Traci and thought “Of course Danny would be playing in L.A. for 3 or 4 nights, because that’s what we’re hearing on the news all the time. Taylor Swift, or Aerosmith, whoever is out there, like The Eagles. Everyone is playing multiple nights in L.A.!”
The conversation was really brief but really positive!
Michael was so excited. Our fans on Y&R have been wanting him to sing again on the show forever, so it’s kind of a fun little extra gift for the fans to be able to see it happen on B&B right now.
Legend has it that the Forrester mansion was modelled after your childhood home.
It’s funny you say that because the first thing we did on set was enter through the doors, which were closed. We were standing there waiting and I was like ‘Oh my God! These doors are my parents’ doors!” I forgot! They have the exact same bumps in the doors and there are these massive lion knockers – we always had little jokes about the knockers at my parents’ house! It was a fun way to kind of step into the scene! Brought things full circle.
It’s really cute that my brother asked us to come over. B&B and Y&R tape right across the hall and yet it’s a world away. It was just a fun summer thing to plan!
The last time Christine was on B&B was in 2007 when she defended Ridge (then played by Ron Moss) when he was on trial for murder. Will they reference that? Will there be a wink that there’s a new Ridge?
I should have had a line like “There’s something different about you!” We used to do that with recasts! But yes, we’ll address [Ridge’s trial]. I actually brought that up to Brad because I was like, “You know our fans don’t miss anything, so you definitely can’t have them act like they haven’t met each other. So, there has to be a line in there, like ‘Good to see you again,’ because I’m telling you, the fans are brilliantly observant!”
Are there any other memories that stand out for you from your first appearance on B&B?
I was actually in Canada doing a Lifetime movie and he asked what I was doing after. I told him I wasn’t going back to Y&R immediately after wrapping up and he asked if I could come on B&B and do a law thing. Even though it’s a half-hour show, I wanted to be as good as I could be and I was filming something else at the time, so I wanted to be prepared. I was extra nervous! Plus, I’m defending Ridge Forrester! I felt like I got super-prepared and that I was ready to go! I got on the set the first day and no one had told me who the judge was. My favourite show growing up was Knot’s Landing and the judge was Kevin Dobson who played Mack MacKenzie! Things don’t thrill me that much, but I couldn’t remember one line after seeing him!
I looked at him and thought, “Oh my God, I can’t do this!” Thank goodness it was a dry run, and we were blocking, but I had to shake his hand politely and know that I didn’t remember one line that I was about to say today. Thankfully with some time in hair and makeup, I was able to gather myself! It must have worked out because we did the shows, but I have no recollection of any of it other than being horrified in a good way!
I used to want to be on Knot’s Landing so bad! Later on, on Y&R, we had Joan Van Ark and Ted Shackelford, which was great. But yeah, that’s what I remember!
So, no heads up at all!
No! And even on Y&R, we would always be excited to see who the judge was going to be because we’d be about to spend almost an intense two or three weeks with this person – specifically Christian LeBlanc (Michael) and me.
The whole cast is sitting in the seating area watching you. The judge is so important to me because it’s like a lifeline for the three of us. We have to bond together and get through this, so seeing the judge for the first time is so important, but rarely do they give us a clue on who it’s going to be – whether it’s a male or female – it’s always usually a surprise on the first day, a pleasant surprise! But this one in particular, elevated it to a whole other level for me!
What can you tease about Danny and Cricket’s return to Genoa City once the world tour wraps up? Has the show been planned that far ahead yet?
I think it’s going to be in discussion in the next couple of weeks. They probably want to see what happens on B&B so they can continue whatever that momentum is.
I do agree with a lot of fan comments that they would like to see a happy couple on Y&R, and we would so love to be that couple for the fans who have waited a long time for Danny and Cricket to reconnect. I think that they could be the happiness and light [on the show] or assist any family member family is going through some trauma.
For Danny and Cricket, I think they would like to remain in a good place when they return, especially if it’s around the holidays.
It touches upon what we discussed last time, for your 40th anniversary on Y&R, that soaps are supposed to be about escapism. There’s going to be some escapism with Danny performing “Rock On” in the Forrester mansion, right?
100%! I’m a fan of B&B, so I can say this that we’ll get to see the Forresters in a different way. Obviously, there’s dramatic stuff going on within the family, but Danny and Cricket don’t really catch on to that, during the performance and the excitement of Brooke’s Bedroom relaunching, there’s just a really kind of elevated energy. There’s a DJ and women walking around in lingerie, it’s not your typical day at the Forresters!
The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CTV and CBS. Canadians can stream B&B at CTV.ca and the CTV app. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on Global and CBS. Canadians can catch up with Y&R at GlobalTV.com and the Global TV app.
