Hayley Erin Opens up About Her New Role on Y&R

Although perhaps better known to soap fans for playing Kiki Jerome on GENERAL HOSPITAL, Hayley Erin started her daytime career playing Abby Newman on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS from 2008-10. So the actress was both surprised and delighted when the CBS sudser cast her in an entirely new role, that of Genoa City newcomer Claire Grace!

“I love the rules, or lack of rules, in the soap opera universe,” Erin told Soap Opera Digest. “I had never expected to come back, and I didn’t think it would happen, but I had hoped! I always thought, ‘Maybe they’d let me. And I’m really happy that the soap opera universe is so fluid and these kinds of things can happen.”

When Erin first appeared on Y&R all those years ago, she was a teenager, and now she’s a wife and mother. She and husband Adam Fergus welcomed twins Juno and Maude in August 2021. So Claire is going to be a very different character than Abby was back then. 

“Now, coming back to Y&R in this new phase of my life, I’m so excited to really use the life experience that I’ve garnered in the last 15 years to create a really dynamic and interesting character,” she declared. “I’m not gonna lie: I think I might have manifested this role for myself because I think I’ve matured and grown as a person and I feel ready to meet the challenge of stepping back into this world.”

The actress is also excited for viewers to meet her new alter ego. “What I love about Claire is that she is a fantastic businesswoman, which is something so different than what I’ve gotten to play before,” Erin said. “She’s smart and driven — and a lot more put together than I am!”

Stay tuned to see what kind of drama Claire stirs up on Y&R!