Why Don Diamont Was Fired From The Young And The Restless

Don Diamont started his acting career in the soap opera world with his first role in "Days of Our Lives." He then got cast in "The Young and the Restless" in 1985 as Brad Carlton and would remain there for over 20 years, portraying a gardener-turned-businessman. In 2008, Soap Central made the shocking announcement that Diamont was axed from "The Young and the Restless," with sources saying his character would be killed off. Sure enough, during Diamont's final episode, his character Carlton died in a frozen lake after jumping in to save someone.

Although Diamont was "surprised by it," he still had love for his time on the hit daytime soap. "I have nothing but gratitude for the show. It's been a wonderful experience in every way, and I'm just going to miss a lot of the personal relationships as far as the show is concerned," he told Savannah Now. As for why his character was killed off after such a long run, there was talk that Diamont's age may have been a factor, but he later shared his thoughts on his sudden firing.

It's not uncommon for a soap character to get killed off, but Don Diamont thought Brad Carlton's death was a lackluster storyline. When asked why he thought he got fired from "The Young and the Restless," Diamont shared with Entertainment Weekly, "I guess there was some palace intrigue, but I don't really know. A new head writer was brought in and she just saw fit to get rid of Brad Carlton and Colleen Carlton, his daughter." He then described how the writer created a backstory of how Carlton was really a Navy SEAL named George Kaplan who was running from his enemies. "He was an extremely good swimmer, which was why it was so stupid [that he died drowning]. If anybody was trained to handle that situation, it was him," Diamont added.

According to Soap Central, Diamont's firing may have been due to the show cutting costs during economic woes, as he was a long-running cast member. However, his unemployment was short-lived, and he soon made the transition to "The Bold and the Beautiful" as Bill Spencer, Jr. "I absolutely genuinely love this character. Little did I know that on the other side of Brad being killed off 'Y&R,' that on the other side, this character was waiting. It is an absolute thrill," he told Soaps. Diamont has played "Dollar Bill" since his 2009 hiring, but years later, he returned to "The Young and the Restless" as his current character.

Soap operas often bring back killed characters as an evil twin or from a miraculous recovery, but Don Diamont returned to "The Young and the Restless" for a different reason. In 2021, Entertainment Weekly announced that the soap star would bring his "The Bold and the Beautiful" character to his former show for a cross-over — starring alongside his former colleagues, Tracey Bregman, Courtney Hope, and Peter Bergman.

Diamont told CBS that he wasn't initially thrilled about returning to the set after being fired all those years ago but called it an "absolute honor and privilege" to work alongside the Bell family, who have created and maintained "Y&R" for 50 years. "It truly is a Bell family legacy," he stated. He also expressed being dismayed about being asked to return to "Y&R" as a different character but was happy to reunite with his old castmates again. "It was the best. We work across the hall from each other so periodically we see each other but that's nothing like actually getting back on set and working with them again," he told CBS.