Why is there a new actress playing Lily?
Oh dear, well that question just opens a can of worms in a burning ring of fire.
Martha Byrne, the one who had been playing Lily for nearly 20 years prior to this one was trying to renew her contract back in April. She was in negotiations with production, and asked only that she be given the same number of performance days as she had the previous year. (Since soap opera actors are payed per episode, that makes sense to me.) Production told her they would think about it, so she left the negotiation table to come back the next day. Overnight, the production company began secretly recasting for a new Lily Snyder. Martha was naturally outraged about this turn of events and determined (I believe correctly) that the decisions of production broke terms of contract. There are two versions of the story out there. One from production, and one from Martha. But I think Martha's is more likely the true one. She's done some musicals and stage productions in New York, though, and she was devastated to leave "the other love of her life" - the actor that plays Holden. I forget his name at the moment.
