Last seen in Genoa City in 2023, actress Brytni Sarpy is set to reprise her role as Dr. Elena Dawson on CBS’ “The Young and the Restless.”
According to several since-deleted posts on her Instagram Stories timeline, as reported by Soap Opera Digest, Sarpy revealed on Tuesday that she is back at the Television City studio where the daytime drama tapes, with one post containing a photo of dressing room door with a message on it stating “13,000 episodes,” followed by the words “Brytni Sarpy, Dr. Elena Dawson, Welcome back — we miss you!!!” In the caption, Sarpy said, “Missed you too.” Sarpy also shared another photo of herself and co-star Hayley Erin (Claire), who she previously worked alongside during their time at “General Hospital,” where Sarpy portrayed Valerie Spencer and Erin portrayed Kiki Jerome.
“Is it Valerie & Kiki or Elena & Claire?” read the caption of Sarpy’s post, referring to hers and Erin’s alter egos. Sarpy exited “General Hospital” on the Friday, March 15, 2019 episode, only to make her debut on “The Young and the Restless” a few days later, starting with the Tuesday, March 19, 2019 episode.
“It has been an incredible journey bringing Valerie Spencer to life,” Sarpy said at the time of her exit from the ABC drama series “I am so honored to have been given the opportunity to live in her shoes and paint her story on the Port Chuck Canvas.” Her final storyline on the show involved a potential romantic connection with Kristina Davis (then played by Lexi Ainsworth).
Sarpy has been missing in action on “The Young and the Restless” since at least the Spring of 2023, with her character connecting with J.T. Hellstrom (Thad Luckinbill) to discuss his brain tumor on her podcast, and to see where things stood between him and Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle).
A return date for Sarpy was not known at press time, nor how long fans should expect her back on screen. That said, since the actress highlighted the “welcome back” message posted to her dressing room door, in light of the show’s 13,000th episode taping (the episode airs Wednesday, November 13), it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Elena back in Genoa City just as her ex, Devon Hamilton (Bryton James), is set to wed his fiance Abby Newman (Melissa Ordway), which is reportedly the central storyline for the upcoming milestone event.
In addition to “The Young and the Restless” and “General Hospital,” Sarpy has also appeared in episodes of “The Haves and the Have Nots” and “New Girl,” among others. She also starred in the music video for the song “Good for You” by her former “General Hospital” co-star Robert Palmer Watkins (ex-Dillon Quartermaine). Among movies, Sarpy had roles in “A Boy. A Girl. A Dream.,” “The Wrong Husband,” “Prince of Detroit,” and “Four For Fun,” the latter of which was written and directed by soap alum Jason Cook (“Days of our Lives,” “General Hospital”). The film also starred soap alum Jacob Young (“General Hospital,” “The Bold and the Beautiful”).