Genoa City is about to say “hello again” to one of its most unhinged villainesses! Stacy Haiduk is set to return to Young and Restless as Patty Williams, in March, TV Insider reports. The Daytime Emmy-nominated actress, who also appears on Days of Our Lives as Kristen DiMera and Susan Banks, last appeared on Y&R in 2016.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Haiduk was originally cast as Patty back in 2009, but the character — Paul Williams’s (Doug Davidson) sister and Jack Abbott’s (Peter Bergman) first wife — made her first appearance on the show in 1980. Tammy Taylor briefly played the role, with Lilibet Stern taking over from 1980-83. During Stern’s tenure, Patty wed Jack, then played by Terry Lester — but before the wedding, Ashley (Eileen Davidson) caught him in bed with another woman, Diane (then-Alex Donnelley). When Patty learned of Jack’s infidelity, she suffered a miscarriage, and she wound up shooting her louse of a husband when she overheard him admitting to his unsavory reasons for marrying her in the first place.

Andrea Evans played Patty from 1983-84, during which time the character had a brief romantic involvement with Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian). When Patty returned decades later in the form of Haiduk, she had undergone intensive plastic surgery, paid for by Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), and had assumed a new identity, Mary Jane Benson. As Mary Jane, she wreaked havoc on Jack’s life (and on others, as well) before winding up in a psych ward. But before long, she escaped, assumed another identity, that of her own therapist, Dr. Emily Peterson, whose face she had adopted via her surgery. Jack had fallen in love with Emily, and while posing as her, Patty once again married the unsuspecting Abbott. Eventually, Patty’s ruse was exposed and she was sent back to a padded cell. She escaped and shot Jack again in 2012, and when she was caught, she was taken to a secure psychiatric facility in Walworth County Prison. She managed to escape again in 2015 and didn’t resurface until the following year, but after killing off evil Dr. Anderson, she fell into a catatonic state and was sent away to another psychiatric institution. In October of 2016, Paul decided to have his sis relocated to a facility called Rivercrest, which was closer to Genoa City. She has remained there ever since.

Good To Be Bad

After wrapping up her last Y&R run, Haiduk — who earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2017 for her portrayal of Patty — was snapped up by DAYS to portray Kristen, another iconic bad girl, who had previously been played by Eileen Davidson. She made her debut in 2018 and that same year, she also took over the role of Susan Banks, a Kristen look-alike that was also originally played by Davidson. Haiduk has remained on DAYS on and off ever since, and is currently in the thick of major story as Kristen. DAYS shoots nearly a year in advance, though, so Kristen will continue to be seen in Salem while Haiduk performs her Genoa City duties.

The storyline details of Haiduk’s return are being closely guarded, but Y&R Executive Producer/Head Writer Josh Griffith told TV Insider that the show “couldn’t be more excited to welcome back Stacy for this exciting storyline when trouble once again finds Patty.” And there are plenty of characters still active in Genoa City for whom Patty’s return is likely to spell big trouble — starting with Jack. As Haiduk mused of her alter ego to Soap Opera Digest back in 2016, “You never know what she’ll bring to the party. She’s definitely a