HOLLYWOOD—This week’s leading ladies gold standard goes to three dynamic and beautiful women who showed a level of excellence this week that is always expected of them, but still very gratifying to say the very least. These women were visited in some way by the spirit of Christmas. Susan Flannery, who portrays Queen Stephanie Forrester on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” Lesli Kay, who portrays Felicia Forrester on “B&B” and Maura West, who portrays Diane Jenkins on “The Young and the Restless” each offered the Christmas spirit with a twist. Their roles are very different, with Stephanie being powerful, Felicia being exciting and Diane is the sexpot. Though they each showed a level of professionalism playing their roles and it caught extra attention from TV viewers this week.
Queen Stephanie has battled stage four lung cancer and brain cancer and has come out looking like she may have beaten it. Whether she does or not is something we’ll have to patiently wait to see. However, when Stephanie decided to reach outside of her comfort zone this week and to enrich the lives of L.A.’s homeless downtown on skid row, it was not as shocking as it was uplifting. After living for decades in the hills of Bel Air, the queen herself decided that she wants to help people who need help getting back on their feet. Susan Flannery is a rare gem of an actress, one who is always on her toes in every scene but she still manages to surprise “B&B” viewers with her choices and we always feel the payoff. This week Stephanie made Christmas special for many of the homeless, but Susan Flannery made it special for 40 million viewers of “B&B.”
Bradley Bell should be thanked for his exceptional foresight in bringing Felicia home for the holidays. Lesli Kay, who is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses in television today was breathtaking to see. Felicia’s return home to check on her mother, who is battling cancer was so much fun to watch. Kay’s scenes with Flannery, Moss, Harmon and McCook made tears come to viewers’ eyes, and I hope that she’ll be returning a lot more in the new year. Katie Logan needs a run for her Dollar Bill (Spencer), a nickname affectionately given to her husband, and although Tawny’s a great addition to the canvas, Felicia Forrester is so much more sexy and appealing and alluring for Dollar Bill Spencer’s attentions.
Maria Bell’s decision to hire Maura West is one of the best the Bel Air legend has made in years. West has added such a strong dimension to the character of Diane Jenkins and have you noticed what excellent chemistry she has with every leading man on the show? This week we saw Nick and Diane do the deed. Fans were more aware of the fact that Diane is Nick’s ex-stepmother than the characters themselves, but the duo didn’t seem bothered by such a trivial fact. West played Diane this week with a lot of gusto and a lot of drama. On Monday, Diane started out being humiliated in front of her longtime nemesis Nikki, when her credit card was declined. Then she gave sexy eyes to Nick, and ultimately her ex-husband Victor Newman offered her a position as an artchitect to help Diane to get back on her feet and to help support her son Kyle. Victor was unaware of the fact that his ex-wife and son Nick are sexually involved, thus placing the devious diva in direct contact with the newest focus of her lusty infatuations.
West is incredible, so are Flannery and Kay, who between the three beautiful ladies there is a Golden Globe® award and six Emmy awards® total. Stephanie and Felicia enjoyed turkey and family on “B&B” while Diane got a hunk of man and a new job on “Y&R.” Seems as though our favorite leading ladies didn’t need to wait around for Santa this year.
“Y&R” and “B&B” air weekdays on CBS.
Photographs are Courtesy: Susan Flannery and Lesli Kay by Gilles Toucas, Bell Phillip TV Productions and Maura West by JPI Studios© West Hollywood
