Fans of the sitcom Half & Half will want to tune into The Young and the Restless later this month when Telma Hopkins and Valarie Pettiford are reunited on screen.
The actors, who toiled alongside each other on the series that ran from 2002-2006, have remained close since the show wrapped. “When we auditioned together for Half & Half, we started developing a relationship,” says Hopkins, who played Phyllis Thorne. “I got her all to myself for four whole years. Best time of my life.”
Pettiford, who portrayed Deirdre “Big Dee Dee” Lafontaine Thorne, reveals that Hopkins surprised her with the news they’d be reconnecting. “They didn’t even call me,” Pettiford shares. “She called me and said, ‘Guess what?’ ”
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Explains Hopkins, “Because they had to ask me if I would do it first. And I happened to be going to South Africa during the time that they wanted me, and they actually rescheduled, so we got to work together. And that, for me, is just everything. I mean, whenever I’m with Valarie, I’m always having a good time. It’s extended family, and we just appreciate each other whenever we’re together. It’s just disgusting.”
Muses Pettiford, “I know. Good God. I know, it’s really gross, but I love her.”
Hopkins, who previously appeared on Y&R in 2021, will reprise the role of private detective Denise Tolliver. As a newcomer to soaps back then, “It was frightening,” she recalls. “The only reason I got talked into it was because Bryton [James, Devon Winters] played my son on Family Matters, and he can kind of talk me into anything.”
But she did have some ground rules. “I had warned them beforehand, ‘Don’t give me all that dialogue that y’all used to doing, because I will run out of here and go play in traffic,’ ” quips Hopkins. “So they were very kind to me the first couple of times. And then the last time I worked with Bryton, we had, like, 12 pages. I almost had a nervous breakdown. Other than that, it’s been great. It’s a pleasure for me because I started watching Young and the Restless with my grandmother when I was a little baby. And the people here are so fun. I’ve watched them for so long, I actually talk to them as if they know me.”
Pettiford, who made her Genoa City debut on October 29 as Amy Lewis, had soap experience early in her career, appearing as Courtney Walker on Another World from 1988-90 and Dr. Sheila Price on One Life to Live from 1990-94. But after a 30-year gap, “It freaked me out, too, all this dialogue,” she admits. “It was interesting. But when you’re in your dressing room, you can see the other actors filming their stuff before you go and do your scenes, and something about it calmed me down. They were, first of all, so brilliant. And it’s okay if you mess up a line and you have to take it again or whatever. One of the actors was having trouble. It was like, ‘I wish I had your kind of trouble,’ because she was so brilliant, so it just reminded me of that rhythm again and then I immediately got back into it. For the most part, it was like riding a bike.”
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Sharing scenes together again came easily. “We’re so comfortable with each other,” observes Hopkins. “I mean, we spent four years, five days a week together, and we were adversaries on [Half & Half], which was really fun to play. It just gives it a foundation, a kind of gravitas that it wouldn’t have if we didn’t have the relationship we have. So, we don’t have to work at that, we just have to work at the scene.”
In the story, Amy asks Nate Hastings (Sean Dominic) to help her find her missing son Damian, who is Nate’s half-brother. Nate will hire Denise to track him down. Pettiford says she is enjoying getting into the deeper parts of Amy’s plight. “I’m having the time of my life,” she declares. “I’m getting to play every bit of me. I’m getting a chance to exercise some muscles that have been dormant or I haven’t used in a while and I just feel so free. And it really is a dream. I’ve been around a long time and I’ve done it all with the best of the best and this is right up there with it.”
For Hopkins, playing a detective is a new twist for her. “I’m nosy so I can get right into that,” she chuckles. “I want to know everybody’s business anyway, so I’m glad they called for that. I’ve never done that kind of role. I mean, it’s nothing heavy like what [Valarie’s] going through, but it’s a fun role and it’s just a fun show to be a part of.”
So was Half & Half, the series that bonded the two for life. “We had the best time on that show,” says Hopkins. “That was one of the bigger disappointments that we did not come back to finish out that last season. We liked each other, but we came to love each other just being in each other’s lives. We just had a ball, and so whenever anybody brings up Valarie, Half & Half or anything in that era, it’s just a pleasure for me. It’s just warmth.”
“What she said,” nods Pettiford. “Absolutely. We had fun. It was just brilliant.”
Both performers say they would welcome an invite back to the soap. “Of course! It’s like family now,” notes Hopkins. “Bryton threatened my life if I don’t come back and work with him. He’s not my son, but he feels that way, so I just love being with him. And I was in his dressing room! The irony of it all! I left him notes and stuff.”
Adds Pettiford, “I’ve been dropping hints constantly. It’s great work and things have changed in the business right now. Baby, this is the gig to be on! [I’m] so very lucky and very, very grateful.”
Look for Hopkins and Pettiford to air on December 19 and 27.
