Billy Flynn announced in March that he was leaving Days of Our Lives after over a decade of playing Chad DiMera. It was announced at the same time that he was joining The Young and The Restless. However, he didn’t appear on-screen on the CBS soap until June. In a new interview, he blames the delayed debut on DOOL. Keep reading for all the details.
Billy Flynn Apologizes To Y&R Fans For Dragged Out Storyline
Billy Flynn knows that The Young & The Restless viewers were getting ticked off by the constant mention of the mysterious Aristotle Dumas. He saw all the social media commentary about it. He recently chatted with Michael Fairman of Michael Fairman TV about the decision to leave Days of Our Lives for Y&R.
The show initially said that Billy Flynn would play a new character. However, fans speculated that he was a recast for Cane Ashby. The role was previously played by Daniel Goddard, who joined the ABC soap General Hospital earlier this year.
Fans also thought the mysterious Aristotle Dumas was actually Cane Ashby, and they were right. He finally revealed himself last week after months of build-up. But according to Billy Flynn, he was supposed to debut on Y&R months ago. He apologized to fans of the CBS soap for the delay.
Blames DOOL For Delayed Debut
Billy Flynn revealed to Michael Fairman that he was supposed to start on The Young & The Restless in January. But that didn’t happen. Why not?
The actor revealed that he was still under contract with Days of Our Lives and wasn’t able to film for the CBS soap until his contract was over. While he’s no longer playing Chad DiMera, viewers will see Billy Flynn in the role until next year. The Peacock soap films six months or more in advance to keep costs down.
His Thoughts On Chad Recast News
Chad DiMera is an important figure in Salem. He’s the offspring of the iconic villain, Stefano DiMera. Chad’s storyline with Cat Greene (AnnaLynne McCord) is just heating up again. She came to town pretending to be his dead wife. Despite the ultimate betrayal, sparks have been flying between the two. Now the soap dropped the shocking twist that Cat has been a secret ISA agent this whole time.
Chad will undoubtedly be front and center when that secret comes out. Since the character is essential to the storyline, DOOL recast the role. They confirmed fan speculation that Conner Floyd was hired for the part. Viewers know him as Phillip “Chance” Chancellor IV on The Young & The Restless.
While the recast news just went public, Billy Flynn admitted that he knew months ago that Conner Floyd was the new Chad DiMera. He pleaded with viewers to give the actor a chance, noting that it took a while for DOOL viewers to warm up to him, too.
Watch the full interview below and let us know in the comments what you think of Billy Flynn as Cane Ashby so far.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger