Robert Newman says goodbye to The Young and the Restless: "Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the legacy"

Has The Young and the Restless' Ashland Locke really left the building? According to portrayer Robert Newman, yes, the character's death scenes "were in fact my last scenes on the show, the end of my contract."

Fans of daytime legend Robert Newman have been hoping that the recent on-screen death of his The Young and the Restless character, Ashland Locke, wasn't what it seemed, and there would be more from the Genoa City villain. Sadly, the actor confirms that Ashland truly is gone from the canvas.

In a farewell video posted on YouTube (below), Newman states, "I think it's appropriate for me to finally be able to say thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of the legacy of this great show. Just to clarify, the scenes you saw the other day, Ashland dying at the hands of Nick [Joshua Morrow], were in fact my last scenes on the show, the end of my contract. Those were shot about five weeks ago, and since then, I have come home, 3,000 miles away from L.A, home to my family."

The actor expresses that he couldn't be happier to reunite with his loved ones after a long stint on the West Coast, but he's grateful for the opportunity to have played Ashland.

"I did want to take a minute to say thank you to you and also to just do a shout-out to the cast and crew of Young and the Restless, who are just fantastic; they were wonderful people to work with, and I couldn't have been happier about it," he shares. "I very much enjoyed playing the character. I hope you enjoyed seeing me in the role. I know for some of you, it was a tough transition from Richard's [Burgi] work, but I really, really enjoyed playing the character and working with these fantastic people."

Newman closes out his video with the news that he's currently rehearsing in the role of Dennis Dupree for a Barn Theatre production of Rock of Ages, playing August 9 through August 21 in Augusta, Michigan.

"If you want to come out and see me in person, do so. Come to the bar show afterwards; I'll sing a song, likely, and I'll be happy to take pictures and sign photos and things like that," he shares, before giving one last shout-out to Y&R fans. "Again, thank you so much. It was really, really a lovely time. And maybe I'll see you again one day; you never know!"

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Newman took over the role of Y&R's Ashland from Richard Burgi early this year. Previously, he played the role of Guiding Light leading man Josh Lewis, a role he held from 1981 until the CBS soap's 2009 finale.

How do you feel about Robert Newman's departure from Y&R? What are your thoughts on the way Ashland's storyline wrapped up? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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