Is Victoria Rowell Returning to Y&R?

Rumors Indicate that Drucilla Winters May Not be Dead After All

© Steven Fife

Aug 18, 2009

Veteran Young and the Restless star Victoria Rowell disappointed many fans when she announced in 2007 that she’d be leaving the role of Drucilla Winters in the spring of that year. Her exit in April was ambiguous enough that fans have speculated and hoped for more than two years that she’d return. Information released on August 17, 2009 suggests that their wishes may soon come true: Rowell is open to coming back to Y&R and may be in the process of striking a deal with the show.

Get reacquainted with the character of Dru and find out about the possibility of Rowell’s long-awaited return below.

Character History of Drucilla Winters

Drucilla Barber first appeared in Genoa City in 1990 after running away from home. She eventually went to live with her aunt Mamie Johnson who was a housekeeper for the wealthy Abbott family.

Dru, who was illiterate, was taught to read by private investigator Nathan Hastings, who became a mentor to her. Over time, she developed into an elegant and sophisticated model, and married well-educated businessman Neil Winters. But Neil’s brother Malcolm developed a crush on Dru, and one night, the two slept together while she was under the influence of medication.

Dru and Malcolm had a daughter named Lily, although Neil always believed he was Lily’s father. Eventually, Neil and Dru’s marriage collapsed when the two clashed over his desire to have a stay-at-home wife and her desire to be a working woman. Dru and Lily moved to Europe, where Dru continued to have a successful modeling career.

The two returned to Genoa City in 2002 when Dru needed help raising a now teenaged Lily. At the time, Neil was battling a severe drinking problem, and Dru and Lily helped him to overcome his addiction. Eventually, Drucilla and Neil remarried, but three years later, their marriage was in turmoil again when the truth about Lily’s paternity was finally revealed.

Dru and Neil separated and Neil began a flirtatious relationship with colleague Carmen Mesta. This sent Dru over the edge, and she slandered Carmen at an important business function, cut up her clothes, and later became violent with her at work. Then Carmen turned up dead outside of Neil’s nightclub. Drucilla was a prime suspect.

Victoria Rowell Exits in 2007

In February 2007, it was announced that Rowell had asked to be released from her contract. Although rumors suggested that she was unhappy both with her character’s direction and for being excluded from Emmy pre-nominations, Rowell later attributed her exit to the need to be available for a book tour of her book The Woman Who Raised Me: A Memoir. Still, months before her exit was announced, Rowell had been a vocal critic of the show’s backstage politics and its fading African-American presence. She even wanted the opportunity to write for the show, but was denied.

Rowell’s exit was puzzling to fans because of Dru’s involvement in the Carmen Mesta murder storyline, which was an unresolved front-burner storyline at the time. This led to speculation that Drucilla was behind Carmen’s murder, and Rowell would be written out when her character was sentenced to prison. The writers had another idea in mind, however.

Drucilla’s Apparent Death

On April 4, 2007, Drucilla Winters accompanied her friend Sharon Newman to a cliff-side photo shoot. At the photo shoot, Phyllis Newman got into an argument with Sharon. When Phyllis threatened to call Sharon’s fiancé and tell him that Sharon had cheated, Drucilla intervened on Sharon’s behalf and the three women became involved in a physical altercation. Sharon and Drucilla fell over the side of the cliff. Sharon barely survived and Drucilla was never found.

Should Rowell Return to Y&R?

In March 2008, almost a year after her exit from the show, Rowell told Soapcentral.com that she was open to returning and that she’d even been contacted about the possibility: “Before Christmas, through my representative, there was a dialogue with [CBS] regarding [the] re-entry of Drucilla Winters. The ball is in The Young and the Restless[’s] court. I think it's important that the fans know that I'm open to coming back and now we're waiting for an answer. That's absolutely the case.”

On August 17, 2009, Victoria Rowell posted a link on her official Twitter page, which insinuated that she was officially in talks with the Y&R to return. The site, ‘Mr. Brooks Genoa City,’ reported that Rowell was currently in contract negotiations and that the deal was in the “final stages.”

Apparently, producers had toyed with the idea of recasting Drucilla (recent rumors suggested that Tamara Tunie or Tichina Arnold may take over the role), but decided that Rowell would always be Drucilla to viewers. On her Twitter page, Rowell joked with fans that Drucilla was “still hanging on that cliff” or trapped in the wilderness “eatin’ rattlesnakes and roots.” Wherever she’s been since April 2007, it appears she may finally find her way back home to Genoa City in the near future.

Why Bring Drucilla Back Now?

The summer of 2009 seems to be the time when Drucilla is needed most in Genoa City. Her husband Neil is newly single again. Her best friend is also dealing with relationship and legal issues and has not had a female friend since Dru left. Dru’s sister also returned to Genoa City in late 2008. Finally, her daughter Lily is about to start chemotherapy after learning that she has cancer. Therefore, Drucilla’s presence on the show would certainly make sense as her character could be easily woven into any of these stories.

Even if the deal falls through and Drucilla doesn’t return quite yet, it is likely that as long as Rowell remains open to returning, the character of Drucilla will come back from the dead eventually. After all, this is a soap and no one ever seems to stay dead…

What are your thoughts on the possibility of Dru’s return? Are you excited about having Victoria Rowell back, or should Dru be recast?

Drucilla Winters (Victoria Rowell)

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