Judith Chapman Opens up About Her Return to THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS (EXCLUSIVE)
When Gloria blew into Genoa City in the fall of 2020, it was a blink-and-you-missed-it visit, but now Judith Chapman is back on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS for a proper run and we couldn’t wait to chat with her about what Glo was up to this time! “She did go belly-up in Hollywood,” the actress mused to Soaps In Depth. “She burned too many bridges and tried to outsmart her boss and outsmart everybody. It backfired on her and she’s lucky to be alive, I think! And where do you go when you’ve got no place to go? You go home to your children and bother them again!”
And no sooner did Gloria set foot in Genoa City than she was already putting out feelers trying to make it big. “Gloria, as always, she just wants power,” Chapman allowed. “She’s so smart, but she just can’t quite get that through the glass ceiling break that she’s always longed for all her life.” Of course, for every scheme that fails, Glo always has a few in her back pocket ready to go! “Oh yes,” Chapman laughed. “Gloria always has a plan B. And a C. And a D. Just in case the first ones don’t pan out! She’s going to mooch off Kevin and Chloe for a while and see what happens. See if she can mend fences that she obviously burned by disappearing.”
Say what you will about Gloria, but despite all her lies and schemes, the woman genuinely does love her family. “Because she had such a messed-up upbringing,” Chapman explained. “She was such a crummy mother so she’s trying to overcompensate. But sincerely. Genuinely. And trying to do the best she can by her sons and her grandchildren. She’s very much a Mama Bear. What I think is so interesting and why I think the Fisher/Baldwin clan works so well is because bottom line, they really do like her, as annoying and obnoxious as she can be. Like most families, you love to hate them, and then we can’t do without them. Or at least, this is what Gloria tells herself!”
Chapman declared that being reunited for her first scenes back with on-screen sons Christian LeBlanc (Michael) and Greg Rikaart (Kevin) it was as if no time had passed at all. “It was instant rapport,” she enthused. “Instant charisma. Instant communication. And that’s something that’s been going on for 15 years now. And it’s pretty wonderful.”
However, like her stint last fall, returning to Y&R meant dealing with all kinds of brand-new security precautions to protect the cast and crew from coronavirus. “I am in such awe of how everyone has risen to the challenge of COVID,” Chapman marveled. “Keeping us safe and keeping us working. That’s extraordinary. And we’re all rising to the challenge. We’re actors; we’re flexible. It’s like, ‘Oh, we can do that!’ I salute CBS for keeping us working.”
Because across her vast career in film, television, and stage, the Y&R studio will always be a special place for the veteran actress. “In a word, it’s wonderful,” Chapman smiled. “Walking onto a soundstage, for me, if I haven’t been on one in a while, there’s something about the smell of it, the feel of it… the darkness, the lights, the sets… everything. It’s still magic to me.”
So stay tuned to Y&R to watch Chapman work her own magic as Gloria stirs up all kinds of new trouble and see what happens next!
