The Young and the Restless Performer of the Week: Susan Walters as Diane Jenkins Abbott 

Diane Jenkins Abbott, played by The Young and the Restless actress Susan Walters, is fiercely loyal to her family, as evidenced by her showdown with her son, Kyle's, ex, Audra. Diane made sure that Audra knew Kyle had a fierce defender in his mom. Diane not only won the battle against Audra, but Walters earned out support for Performer of the Week for Y&R.

Susan Walters, The Young and the Restless, Performer of the Week

Kyle (Michael Mealor) had had a couple of drinks in him when he and Audra (the sensational Zuleyka Silver) sparred at the jazz lounge, but he was still getting in some shots against his ex. Audra, however, is the queen of turning situations around and throwing people's pasts in their faces. She knows what is the most hurtful and truthful thing to say to someone, and then she says it.

Fortunately, Kyle's parents, Jack (Peter Bergman) and Diane, showed up, and while Kyle's dad got him away from Audra and in front of some coffee, Diane stuck around to show her how it's done on The Young and the Restless!

Diane, to her credit, was willing to go in with a civil but firm tone. "I just want to clear the air," Diane stated. Sally defended Audra's attack, telling Diane that she was her friend, prompting Diane to fire back, "Sally, you know what this woman is capable of!"

Diane chastised Audra for playing her way into a job with Sally. Walters kept in mind Diane's much more cordial relationship with Sally, so she brought a tone of sincerity to her voice when she lamented that Abbott Communications had gone kaput, but Walters skillfully switched Diane's tone when she turned to Audra.

It takes one to know one

"I am not sorry that you are back where you belong -- on the street," Diane snarked. When Audra took a swipe at Diane's son, the protective mama bear said simply, "Stay away from Kyle."

Diane dismissed Audra's gritty bravado by pointing out to her that she'd lost everything. When Audra brought up Kyle's advances to her in France, Walters had Diane look away as if to acknowledge that what happened at Cane's estate wasn't necessarily Kyle's finest moment.

A lesser actress would have tried to win every point, but Walters knows that viewers like to watch characters go at it the way two skilled players at Wimbledon do when they volley the ball back and forth. There's no fun in watching a tennis match that ends in 6-0, 6-0, 6-0.

But when Audra brought up Diane's duplicitous past and how she faked her own death years ago on The Young and the Restless, Walters had Diane come back guns a blazing. We saw Walters look in Sally's direction to see if Audra's hurtful (yet accurate) description of her was making an impact on her pal. Diane likes Sally, and she doesn't want her thinking badly of her, especially as she could someday become her sister-in-law if Sally ends up marrying Billy (Jason Thompson).

"Yes, yes, yes, I have quite the history," conceded Diane about her complicated past on The Young and the Restless. "And I fully own it." Showing she was an expert in verbal jousting, Diane snarked at Audra that she was the miserable one. "My history, Audra, is also why I am on to you. What do they say these days? 'Game recognizes game.'"

No matter how many times Audra came back with her version of things, Diane fired back until she made her point. "What you want deep down isn't for Kyle to suffer," Diane debated. "You want him all for yourself, and you're just throwing tantrums and making scenes because you know you will never, ever have him." Game. Set. Match.

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Once they were back at the Abbott mansion, Diane admitted to Kyle and Jack that she shouldn't have lowered herself to Audra's level, but that she enjoyed telling her off. Viewers enjoyed it, too. Brava to Walters, one of Daytime TV's most solid and dynamic performers, who always brings her A game to her work.

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus

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