The Young and the Restless is in the middle of their goodbye to Neil Winters. After Kristoff St. John passed away back in April, there was a lot of concern about how the CBS soap would handle everything.
A decision was made to write the character off for good as there would never be another actor able to step into the role of Neil Winters. Many The Young and the Restless fans would agree and so, they decided to pay their respects on the show as Genoa City says farewell to Neil.
Many of the actors on The Young and the Restless had a personal relationship with Kristoff St. John. Aside from working with him, they were with him as he fought to bounce back after the tragic loss of his son, Julian St. John.
Bryton James plays Devon Hamilton and was close to Kristoff St. John. Footage from the most recent episode of The Young and the Restless showed Neil Winters added into the scene with Devon trying to talk to what appeared to be a ghostly image. The dialogue was incredibly real and given the relationship the two had in real life, absolutely believable.
Devon @BrytonEjames was amazing in this scene. Whew! 😢 #YR #Winters pic.twitter.com/BScW5dhKuT
— Nightcrawler’s Teleporting Black Hole🕳 (@DecodnLyfe) April 24, 2019
In the promo for the week, it was apparent that many of the character’s reactions were drawn from how the actors felt. Eric Braeden who plays the famous Victor Newman was moved to tears. His relationship with Kristoff St. John was also strong. Nikki (Melody Scott Thomas) had a similar reaction, as did Ashley (Eileen Davidson).
This week on #yr we say goodbye to the beloved Neil Winters. It’s almost 3 months since #KristoffStJohn passed & like so many of u Istill can’t believe it. I just can’t. 💔 Tell me in the comments below your favorite Neil Winters storyline, or… if you ever met Kristoff 🙏 pic.twitter.com/ijlOwiRlTc
— Daniel Goddard (@DanielGoddard) April 22, 2019
As the rest of the week plays on, The Young and the Restless fans may need to keep their tissues handy. The acting is incredibly real, obviously drawn from their real-life connection to Kristoff St. John and the immense loss that is felt now that he is gone.
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS.