The Young and the Restless: Stacy Haiduk's return has fans talking about Doug Davidson

Y&R fans want to know

Are The Young and the Restless writers still trying to stick it to Doug Davidson, or is everything that is happening in Genoa City just a coincidence? Davidson portrayed Paul Williams for 40 years until the soap stopped using him as a regular in 2019. Paul's last oficial scene was in 2020.

During the past six years, storylines have taken turns that keep Paul's memory front and center even though he is no longer around. His loved ones have been showing up in Genoa City without him while he is in Portugal.

His wife, Christine Williams (Lauralee Bell) returned to Genoa City and began getting more airtime. while her spouse was with his daughter, Heather Stevens (Vial Bloom), and granddaughter Lucy Romalatti (Lily Brooks O'Brien).

The writers wrote trouble into the script for the couple who eventually divorced. To add insult to injury, Chris later married her old flame, Danny Romolatti (Michael Damian).

2023 was a pivotal year

In 2023, Y&R celebrated 50 years, and Paul's name came up a lot, but he was nowhere to be seen.  Viewers thought Davidson might be among the former cast who returned for the five-decade event, but he was not.

Y&R even brought back Mamie (Veronica Redd) the Abbott housekeeper who had been away since 2005 and was not a major character. Lucy and Heather also returned to Genoa City without Paul and were involved in major storylines until Heather was killed.

Paul lost his wife and his daughter in a matter of months, all off-screen. Also in 2023, (off-screen) he recommended Chance Chancellor (Conner Floyd) for his police commissioner job, and fans knew this meant the character was not going to return.

The return of Patty Williams

Now, The Young and the Restless is bringing back Paul's sister, Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk). Her role is not clear, but fans know she is in a mental health facility.

Either she will break out and wreak havoc on Genoa City as she has in the past,, or Mariah Copeland (Cameron Grimes) might be committed to the same facility because she had a breakdown.

Mariah believes Ian Ward (Ray Wise) is talking to her, and she kidnapped Dominic Chancellor ( Ethan Ray Clark) on his orders. Patty also has a past with Ian, so anything is possible. Haiduk has the dual role of Susan Banks and Kristen Dimera on Days of Our Lives, so her story arc is not likely to be a long one.

What happened to Paul?

Josh Griffith took over from Mal Young as Y&R head writer in 2018, which is when Paul began to be seen less on the CBS soap. During this time, Eileen Davidson (Ashley Abbott) and Christel Khalil (Lily Winters) left the daytime drama. There were rumors of friction with Young, who was fired.

The only thing that was ever said about the issue of Paul was once when Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) said, "Dougie Davidson difficult??? This implies someone in a power position thought the actor was hard to work with, but there is no evidence to substantiate Braeden's remark.

Doug Davidson's character, Paul Williams, may not be in Genoa City, but longtime fans think of him each time his loved ones are featured. The divorce from Christine, who married Danny, and the return of Heather, Lucy, and Patty could all be storyline-driven and coincidence.

Still, some fans wonder if The Young and the Restless is messing with one of the long-time and much beloved cast members, and if so, why? The only thing Davidson has said about the issue is that his screen time kept getting cut. His last statement on the matter was to tell fans he did not see himself returning.