One of The Young and the Restless most popular couples of the 2010s was Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard) and Lily Winters (Christel Khalil). Their love story came to a complete end when Daniel Goddard exited the role, but now things could be turning around as Billy Flynn steps in as the new Cane. Khalil is now addressing the return of her former on-screen husband head-on, sharing her thoughts on of the storyline, when she found out Cane was returning, and asking fans to give this version of Cane and Lily a chance.
Khalil joined The Young and the Restless in 2002, as the teenage daughter of Drucilla and Neil Winters, though she was biologically Neil’s half brother Malcom’s daughter. Throughout her time on the show Lily has traditionally driven story, but that hasn’t been the case for her recently, as Lily has had a little less to do in recent years. “I’ve been wanting to be used more, so it’s great to be working a lot more and have something to really sink my teeth into. For a long time, it’s been mainly a business storyline, which has been really fun to play and work with Victor, but it’s nice to have that other layer of emotion and relationship and connection to play as well.” The actress shared with TV Insider.
The actress wasn’t told what her upcoming storyline would be, or even more importantly that her on-screen husband would be making a dramatic return. “Josh Griffith kept it a secret for a very long time, I didn’t realize they were bringing Cane back until a week or two before he started. I was super excited; it was such a great character, and it was a shame to not have the character there.”
This will be the first time Khalil will have worked with co-star Billy Flynn. The actress shared, “I heard great things from some of the other cast members who had either worked with him or knew people that worked with him, he’s such a great guy and great to work with.”
Khalil sent a direct message that they are not trying to undo her previous co-star Daniel Goddards work, but rather expand and show a new perspective. The actress explained, “I think the good thing that Josh has done is he’s completely changed the character of Cane. It doesn’t feel like we’re trying to have someone step in Daniel Goddards shoes, It’s pretty much an entirely new character, so it’s been interesting to have scenes because we have the history there, but it’s a little bit different. They’ve also added in flashbacks that Lily has of interactions that she and Cane have had in the past, five or six years. So, it’s almost a little bit of a new relationship again, in a way.”
The actress continued to ask fans to give this story and interpretation of Cane a chance. She said, “At the end of the day, it’s not going to be the same Cane. It’s a completely different person, and I really hope that everybody gives Billy a chance and tries to look at the character through new eyes, because it is a new person, and honestly, it’s a new character. He’s nothing like Daniel Goddard, and that’s kind of the point. The point was to make this character something completely different. And so hopefully people give it a chance and look at it like a new relationship rather than like an old one coming back.”
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS and streams weeknights on Paramount+.
