For years Victoria Rowell entertained audiences around the world as Drucilla Winters on The Young and the Restless, a role she played from 1990 to 2007. Now the Daytime Emmy nominee is reflecting on her time on the CBS soap and sharing the surprising story of how she first joined the show.

In a recent interview on Alan Locher’s popular YouTube series, The Locher Room, where the former soap publicist interviews daytime stars. Rowell opened up about her early days in daytime. When asked if she had to audition for the part of Drucilla, she confirmed, “I did.”

As it turns out, Rowell wasn’t even in L.A. to audition for The Young and the Restless. She had flown out to test for a new ABC primetime series. “I was flown to Los Angeles by ABC to test for a series,” she recalled. “I tested. Then they wanted to retest me, and I didn’t get the part.”

That was when everything changed. “I was packing to go back to New York,” Rowell said. “I get a call from my agent Harry Abrams. He says, ‘Vicki, before you get on the plane, I want you to audition for a soap.’” Abrams explained that the show, then the Number 1 soap in the country, was holding callbacks “He told me, ‘You have nothing to lose.’”

Rowell was nearly out the door, literally, “I also didn’t have any more clean clothes,” she laughed. “I went into that audition looking completely goth. I went in with black tights and my black wool striped shorts. I was kind of New York goth and black shirt. I had a black tam on with a vintage black tam with a copper emblem and my big hair and black flat shoes. I was getting on the plane. It was whatever was at the bottom of the suitcase.”

As soon as she arrived, Rowell admitted she felt completely out of place. “I walked into that audition room and everyone was all done up and looking fabulous and it was filled,” she recalled.

Eventually it was her turn. “I went into this beautiful office and behind the desk was this arctic eyed man. really elegant sitting behind a desk and that was William J. Bell.” Rowell said of The Young and the Restless creator. “It was just Bill Bell and me. I walked in, he read the lines, I replied to them. I had nothing to lose. I had a cold read because I got the material and I had to go in and do it.” The actress channeled the emotions she had for the day into her work, sharing, “I also used my disappointment in not getting the series that I’d come out to get, in the scene which required some frustration and upset.”

The emotional cold read changed her life. “My agent got a call that day and said I got the part,” she said. “Bill had the power to pick. So, it was great,” she said.

Rowell spoke fondly of her relationship with Bell. “He was such an ally, such a champion,” she shared. “We just gravitated towards each other. That’s someone that really let me fly. He trusted what I did with his words. We had an open door policy, if I had ideas not to hesitate to share them. I just loved him. I love him to this day. And he didn’t hold back saying out loud how much he loved me. And you know like in any family that can draw some attention you don’t want. So, but I just I just loved him and he really made a mark on my life and you know how I would take care of my children and gave me a security I couldn’t have imagined having come out of foster care.”

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS and streams weeknights on Paramount+.

This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 25, 2025, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.