Melody Thomas Scott Leaving the Young and
the Restless

Melody Thomas Scott leaving The Young and the Restless may seem beyond belief, but in 2009 the unbelievable occurred when the 30 year veteran left the daytime drama.

Melody Thomas Scott was with her Y&R co-stars at the 2009 Daytime Emmys.

Scott joined the cast in 1979 at the tender age of 23. Cast in the role of stripper Nikki Reed, she replaced another actress Erica Hope who played the role for six months. The role was not expected to be a long-term one, but the character soon caught the eye of business tycoon Victor Newman played by Eric Braeden. The actors created fantastic chemistry that would play a large role in their on-again, off-again love affair for over 30 years.

Scott's popularity with the fans increased as her storylines linked her across the canvas including her long-standing friendship with Katherine Chancellor and her passionate affairs with Jack Abbott and Brad Carlton. Nikki went from stripper to society maven. The character shared two children with Victor: Victoria and Nicholas.

A staple of the drama Scott was written out of the show in 2009 when her contract negotiations stalled. The actress resisted the pay cut that show runners were introducing for many veterans in an effort to curb costs. Fellow actress Jess Walton (Jill Abbott) also experienced difficult negotiations that resulted in her near exit as well earlier in 2009.

When the negotiations stalled, the writers were forced to write Nikki Newman off of the show because they plan storylines months in advance. Nikki broke off her engagement to Paul Williams (Doug Davidson) and left town abruptly leaving her family longing for her return.

Melody Thomas Scott met and fell in love with her husband former executive producer Ed Scott while working on the show. The couple was married in 1985 and shares three daughters. In 2005, the couple renewed their wedding vows in an elaborate ceremony. Ed Scott left his position as Supervising Producer of The Young and the Restless. He was nominated numerous times and won five Daytime Emmys for his work on the soap opera.

Melody Thomas Scott, although nominated several times for the Outstanding Lead Actress Daytime Emmy, the actress has not won. The actress appeared frequently on daytime and primetime game shows to raise money for various charities.

Y&R and Scott eventually came to an accord in July 2009. The actress was written back into the show, but all details surrounding her character's storylines were kept under a tight lid particularly after actor Kevin Schmidt (Scott's on-screen grandson Noah) tweeted that someone close to his character was going to die.

Her 2009 exit was not the first time that she left the CBS daytime soap opera. In 2001, when contract negotiations stalled, Scott reportedly cleaned out her dressing room and left the show before they were able to come to a new and equitable agreement.

Tight economic times and declining viewership seriously impacted soap operas in 2009 with the cancellation of Y&R's sister CBS soap opera Guiding Light, pay cuts, reduced airtime and veteran soap actors leaving long-term roles.

• Desperate Housewives Cast Members
• Cute Daytime Soap Opera Actresses
• True Blood Full Episodes
• Sex and the City Quiz

• Young and the Restless Spoilers
• All My Children Spoilers
• All My Children Scoops and Spoilers
• General Hospital Scoops and Spoilers
• Soap Opera Spoilers