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Jill Farren Phelps Fired From ‘The Young And The Restless,’ Sources Detail: Who Else May Leave And Who Is In Line To Take Her Spot?

By Stacy Carey
Published on: 23:00 PST, Jun 7, 2016

Rumors have been swirling for a while now that a soap showrunner would soon be shown out the door, and now reports indicate that The Young and the Restless executive producer Jill Farren Phelps has been fired from the show. Fans have been groaning about how the show has been handled under Jill’s leadership, and this move will definitely have viewers buzzing.

A Daytime Confidential blind item in May mentioned that a veteran executive producer would be leaving one of the soaps soon, and this post got nearly 1,000 comments as people speculated about the various options. While each of the soaps has faced challenges in recent months, many commenters felt sure that Jill Farren Phelps was the subject of the blind item post.

Now, Daytime Confidential details that indeed, the Young and Restless executive producer is out. While the scoop is coming from multiple insiders at this point, rather than the show or executive producer herself, it should not take long for an official confirmation to emerge.

Phelps has definitely made the rounds in the soap world, having previously worked on General Hospital, General Hospital: Night Shift, One Life to Live, Guiding Light, and Santa Barbara. Jill was also an executive producer with the show Hollywood Heights and she worked on Another World many years ago as well.

Typically, “JFP” has another gig lined up before the door is fully closed on whatever job she is leaving. This time, however, the buzz is that this departing Young and Restless executive producer is currently unattached to any new projects. Fans have been calling for Jill’s firing for some time now, bemoaning the state of Y&R under her reign.

According to Daytime Confidential’s co-owner Jamey Giddens, the original plan was that Phelps would be booted, but that she would also have the opportunity to present her Young and Restless departure as her decision. Now, however, things have reportedly shifted, and Jill is simply out.

Why do Young and Restless fans have such a dislike for JFP? As Celeb Dirty Laundry details, there is a fairly long list of reasons that show supporters note as talk of Phelps heats up in various forums online. Jill is blamed for losing both Billy Miller and Michelle Stafford from the show, and as soap fans know, both Stafford and Miller have since been scooped up by General Hospital.

Various storylines have been mishandled or left hanging under Phelps’ reign and for quite some time now Young and Restless viewers have been frustrated and feeling as if the show is not the soap they have loved for so many years. People get frustrated by how Jill seemingly has her favorite actors or actresses whom she caters to, while letting other great talents slip away.

Will the departure of Jill Farren Phelps from Young and Restless pave the way for some clean-up and resolution on some of the hanging storylines? The murder of Dr. Anderson was left open-ended in some senses with Patty’s ramblings and, of course, there is the Sully-is-Christian storyline that has dragged on for far too long. Phelps generated an enormous uproar when Michael Muhney was let go from Y&R and many were frustrated with how Jessica Collins’ character of Avery was destroyed and sent packing as well. Will viewers see some cast shifts as a new executive producer takes over the role?

What now happens with Chuck Pratt, the Young and Restless head writer and co-executive producer who has been tight for so long with JFP? It seems that he is still with the show for now, but he may be on shaky ground in that position. The buzz is that Mal Young, who came to Y&R from Britain’s Doctor Who and EastEnders, May take over Phelps’ role. Now that the news has leaked about the change in show leadership, fans can surely expect some confirmations soon.

Will you be celebrating the news of Jill Farren Phelps’ firing from The Young and the Restless or do you think she should have been able to stay put? Will she land at one of the other soaps now or is she going to need to change gears?

[Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images]

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