The Young and the Restless star Melody Thomas Scott has played Nikki Newman for over 45 years, which means Scott has a handle on her alter ego like no one else.

After all these years, the actress knows how to navigate and fight for her character. In a Parade exclusive clip from her upcoming appearance on the Soapy podcast, Scott talks about staying true to Nikki.

The Young and the Restless Star Melody Thomas Scott Isn’t Afraid to Change Things Up

Soapy host,Days of Our Lives star Greg Rikkart, questioned if the actress still gets challenged or if her approach to Nikki has changed over the past four decades.

“Has it changed for you as far as the way you approach the work? Like, do you feel like you have Nikki like the back of your hand now, or do you still have to do you ever get scripts that you’re challenged by and say, oh, I don’t that’s something new and I don’t know how to get from A to B here,” Rikaart asked.

Scott didn’t hold back in her response, declaring, “I do think I know Nikki better than anybody. I’ve known her for 46 years.”

The actress went on to explain a little behind-the-scenes fun fact for The Young and the Restless fans.

“Our writers are based all over the country. They’re not all in one room. There is no writer’s room. And sometimes, maybe a new writer doesn’t really know Nikki’s voice or how she would do things,” Scott expressed. “And so that’s easily changed. I, you know, Josh Griffith, our executive producer and head writer, he’s terrific. He doesn’t get upset about change at all. And you know, I’ll just change stuff.”

Soapy Hosts And Melody Thomas Scott Joke About Eric Braeden

There’s no question that Nikki and Victor (Eric Braeden) are a The Young and the Restless supercouple. After decades of working together, Braeden and Scott are thick as thieves.

While admitting she does change some writing from time to time, Scott also acknowledges that her on-screen partner does it, too, and it’s not a secret.

“Eric Braden changes stuff all the time. Very, very well known,” the CBS soap star shared.

The Bold and the Beautiful star Rebecca Budig (Taylor), the other Soapy host, revealed they talked about that when Braeden appeared on the podcast.

Rikaart recalled that on Braeden’s most recent anniversary for playing Victor on the soap, Christian LeBlanc (Michael) simply gave a speech in which he said the word “blend.”

It turns out the word means something to those who work with Braeden.

“Blend, ’cause Eric will just, he’ll walk out on stage and he’ll say, Blend, meaning like, I’m only gonna say this one word, so you take whatever words you have and just blend it,” Scott replied.

Find out what else Scott has to say about her time on the CBS soap when the episode of Soapy drops on Tuesday, September 23, anywhere you get your podcasts.

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS.

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This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.