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Colleen Zenk ended her memorable run as Jordan on Young and Restless in dramatic fashion on Friday, January 24, when her character deliberately overdosed on tea containing crushed-up sleeping pills. Now, in a new interview with TV Insider, she is speaking out about she feels about leaving the show.
Such Sweet Sorrow
The actress admitted to being bummed by the abruptness of Jordan’s demise. “I’m sad Jordan went away so quickly,” Zenk said. She had expected to exit alongside Ray Wise’s Ian Ward, who late last year was revealed to be Jordan’s co-conspirator. “I thought that Ian and Jordan would go out like Bonnie and Clyde together,” she shared with the outlet.
Above all, though, Zenk stressed how grateful she was — first to be cast as Jordan in 2023, then to be asked back in 2024, and to get to work alongside such a fantastic crop of actors at the show. The Y&R role was her first foray back into the world of daytime since 2010, when her long-running role as Barbara Ryan on As the World Turns came to an end with ATWT’s cancellation. “What a gift at my age and tenure,” she said of the opportunity to play the outlandish Jordan.
At Y&R, the actress was able to reconnect with old friends from the industry, such as Christian J. LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin), who overlapped with her on ATWT when he played Kirk McColl from 1983-85, and also to make new ones, including scene partner Wise. Zenk told the website that while she had never met the actor before they teamed up on Y&R, “He’s everything that everyone told me he would be. He’s the real deal. He is kind, he is supportive, he is gracious, he’s funny as hell and he’s a pure gentleman.” Since she wrapped up her work on the show, Wise has even called several times to check up on her, the actress revealed.
Zenk noted how touched she was by the warm reception she received from fans. “I didn’t expect the overwhelming welcome I got when I came back [last year, after Jordan’s months-long hiatus from the canvas] and now I’m getting the overwhelming sadness” over her exit,” she sighed, expressing her appreciation for “the outpouring of love and respect that I’ve had” from the audience.
Would you like to see the veteran star snapped up by another soap? Let us know in the comments below!
