Exclusive! Michael Damian and Lauralee Bell dish to Soap Central about their B&B crossover

In an exclusive interview with Dan J Kroll of Soap Central, "Danny" and "Cricket" explain how they went from Genoa City to Los Angeles.

In an exclusive interview with Dan J Kroll of Soap Central, Michael Damian and Lauralee Bell of The Young and the Restless discussed this week's crossover to The Bold and the Beautiful.

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Playing Cricket since she was 13 years old, Bell laughed at how odd it felt to even be scheduled for an interview about The Bold and the Beautiful but noted about the crossover, "We had the best time ever!"

In the real world, Genoa City and Los Angeles are thousands of miles apart, but Damian and Bell could count the steps between the two worlds at the studio. The pair was able to use their same dressing rooms, but as Damian noted when they came walking out to film, they usually go down the hallway and turn left, and that day, they turned right.

Bell explained how the idea came to be. On The Young and the Restless, their characters are traveling the world together while Danny is on tour. One of his concerts was in Paris, where the pair spent time with friends Traci Abbott (Beth Maitland) and Alan Laurent (Christopher Cousins).

After the scene was filmed, Bell's brother, Bradley Bell, executive producer and head writer of The Bold and the Beautiful, contacted her. He thought it would be an obvious choice for Danny to perform in L.A. and suggested they write it into the show. Brad told his sister to give him a few days to figure it out.

Brad took his time to figure out the storyline that would bring about the crossover, but in the meantime, Lauralee Bell called Damian to tell him what her brother had suggested, and she asked if he would be interested if it went ahead. Damian was all in.

The crossover happens on August 12 and 13, 2024, and Danny will be performing a song. Asked if Christine will ever join him on stage, Damian joked that she needs to, while she shied away from answering.

Last month marked the 35th anniversary of Damian's hit single "Rock On" going to #1 on the Billboard Top 100. Damian noted that taping the show was his first time performing the new "Rock On" remix.

As for being one of Genoa City's most enduring couple, the pair noted that there are very few people who have been on camera as long as they have on any of the soaps. Bell said that they love it, and they don't take their roles or their longevity for granted.

"We talk about scenes and pictures all the time," Bell said. "I sent him something the other day from 1988 of us hugging in the hallway." Damian and Bell both agreed that fans are happy that Danny and Christine are back together and doing their happily ever after on The Young and the Restless.

"Like a song, we're connected to viewers' personal memories," Damian said, noting that they have enjoyed sharing their journey with fans. "Cricket should have gone away with him originally," Bell said in a nod to fan's opinions.

Speaking to the fans' support, Bell said, "We're big communicators with the fans because we know we wouldn't be here without them." Damian agreed, adding how special, supportive, and loyal the viewers are -- and patient.

Damian laughed as he noted that fans admonish him personally about their displeasure with letting Danny get involved with Phyllis. "They'll say to me 'What are you doing? Are you crazy? Stop it!'" Damian said, "They're incredible -- we're so blessed." He added his appreciation that the fans care so much.

Bell agreed, "They have opinions, and the fans know the show better than us sometimes."

The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful air weekdays on CBS.

Are you excited to see Danny and Christine on The Bold and the Beautiful? What other characters might be fun in a crossover? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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