Linden Ashby Discusses His Shocking Return to Y&R

The last time Linden Ashby played the villainous Cameron Kirsten on The Young & The Restless, he earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in the Outstanding Guest Performance category. But when Cameron was last seen on the soap opera, he was fatally stabbed and presumed dead. So, his return in the August 1 episode of Y&R was a significant surprise to both Sharon and the show’s viewers.

Ashby revealed to TV Insider that he never expected to return after Cameron’s dramatic end in June 2023. “No, I mean, I was dead,” he admitted candidly. Despite this, he was thrilled when the soap contacted him about reprising the notorious role. “I really like everybody on the set. I like my family here, real and imagined. And any time I get to carpool with [my wife] Susan [Walters, Diane], it’s a good day,” he shared.

Importantly, Cameron isn’t back from the dead, nor is he appearing as a ghost to haunt Sharon. Rather, he is a version of the character she imagines in her mind. “It’s Sharon’s idea of Cameron,” Ashby explained. “He’s a manifestation of her internal world, to help her give voice to things that she’s afraid to say out loud, things she’s afraid to do. He’s that person who’s encouraging her to do things that maybe she shouldn’t be doing. It’s not quite what Cameron would do, but who knows what Cameron would do — it’s what Sharon believes Cameron would do.”

Although Sharon has assured her family that she will seek medical help and stop herself from spiraling further, that doesn’t seem to be the current trajectory. Her hallucinations of Nick have been supportive, but Cameron will obviously play a very different role. Just like her visions of Nick, she will continue to see Cameron, and Ashby’s latest guest turn on Y&R will last a while. “I’ve read quite a bit ahead,” the actor teased. “I know where certain things are going and it’s pretty good stuff.”