Young And The Restless News: Victoria Rowell Speaks Out About Kristoff St. John’s Battle With Alcohol

Back in April, “The Young and the Restless” aired a four-episode arc to honor the late Kristoff St. John, who played Neil Winters on the soap. The storyline, which started from April 23 through April 26, brought back familiar faces like Shemar Moore (Malcolm Winters), Christel Khalil (Lily Winters Ashby), and Bryton James (Devon Hamilton Winters). Apart from these actors, there’s one iconic actor who also returned for the tribute, Victoria Rowell, also known as Drucilla Barber Winters, on the show.

Rowell recalled that she was at home when she heard the news about St. John’s passing. She and St. John were close on and off-screen, and that’s why his demise was hard for her to accept.

“I couldn’t talk. It was such a shock and so unbelievable that I had to sit down. People don’t realize how deadly alcohol can be,” she told Soaps.com in an interview. “It’s a socially acceptable drug and anything that adds to that, such as stress or devastation, only magnifies that particular disease. One could not know the depth of Kristoff’s despair given how he could mask his pain. Obviously, we all knew he was suffering from the loss of his son, but to what extent, we could not know.”

She described their relationship as not just colleagues but as friends and confidants as well. Rowell added that they’ve worked together on several Christmas movies, talked, and shared ideas about a lot of things including his writing. They both even hoped for their characters to be reunited on “The Young and the Restless.” Unfortunately, it never happened and never will.

But she also admitted that coming back for the tribute was the right decision and that “it was heartening to know that we could all come together for a common interest, and that was Kristoff St. John. It meant a lot to me and I believe it meant quite a bit to the fans.”

Rowell has had her hands full with other projects including “The Rich and the Ruthless,” and she appeared in the lifetime movie “Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta.”

Rowell has won several awards. Her first one was for the Outstanding Female Newcomer category at the 8th Soap Opera Digest Awards back in 1992. She also won several NAACP Image Awards and got nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for her impeccable performance in “The Young and the Restless.”

So Y&R fans, what do you think about these “Young and the Restless” spoilers? Voice your opinion in the comments below and don’t forget to check Celebrating The Soaps often for the latest “Young and the Restless”spoilers, rumors, updates and news.