Lauralee Bell’s Special Gift to Y&R Fans

Fans who follow Lauralee Bell (Christine) on social media are well aware of the fun backstage videos she shares featuring her and her castmates at “The Young & The Restless.” Though Bell has also written and directed some short films, these behind-the-scenes videos aren’t just a way for her to keep her skills sharp.

“I’m doing this a hundred percent for the fans,” Bell told Soaps in Depth. “Because I’m a fan. I get it. I’m a fan of Y&R. I’m a fan of TV. The TV was never not on in our house, and sometimes multiple televisions. My father was writing television, my mom was on local television. It’s just my whole life. So I understand how much people give of their lives to a show, especially if they’re a super fan.”

She continued, “We’ve been on 50 years. They love seeing us behind the scenes. They love knowing that I’m nothing like my character. People will never believe that but I’m about as far from Cricket as I can be. So I just thought if I’m waiting to go on anyway and the cast is willing and the fans appreciate it, then it’s a win all around.”

A self-confessed workaholic, Bell admitted her brain is always thinking about the next thing. This mindset inspired her to create a video based on Y&R’s Crimson Lights set, set to the classic rock song “Crimson and Clover.”

“Because I’m trying to figure out, what can I do?” she explained. “It’s like these beats of this song, what can I do? And I was like, I know, I’ll do flash cuts of people to each beat. And I couldn’t sleep for days because I was like, ‘Oh, I’m doing this.’ And so people, especially Courtney Hope (Sally), Lizzie Hendrickson (Chloe), and Melissa Clare Egan (Chelsea), I was like, ‘Okay guys, hold up your coffee. Turn to the right.’ They have no concept. Even Eric Braeden (Victor) was like, ‘Wait, now what?’ I grabbed a group and it would take maybe under a minute of getting five or six shots. It’s just so fun.”

Another favorite video was the one celebrating New Year’s when Bell surprised her co-stars with a noisemaker. “I got Joshua Morrow (Nick) so bad,” she laughed. “When you have to bleep the true words out… I mean, I felt bad. And Judith Chapman (Gloria), it’s great. She almost had a delayed reaction. It was funny.”

“But we all act like that around the hair and makeup room anyway,” Bell added, “so it’s just capturing it on my phone.”