Lily Winters - Casting

Casting

The role was first portrayed by Vanessa Carson beginning in 1996, followed by Brooke Marie Bridges from 1998 to 2000. In August 2002, Khalil wwas cast in the role as a teenager. She garnered two nominations for Outstanding Younger Actress for the 2004 and 2006 Daytime Emmy Awards, and two Young Artist Award nominations for Leading Young Actress in 2003 and 2004. Khalil left the soap in 2005 and cited stress as the reason for her departure. The show attempted to convince Khalil to return, but when that failed, they recast the role in 2006 with Davetta Sherwood. "We are the same Lily, but not the same actress, so it's going to be a little different," Sherwood said. Though she replaced a popular actress, Sherwood said she felt no anxiety over it because Khalil chose to vacate the role.

After leaving The Young and the Restless, Khalil had multiple talks with representatives from the series about possibly stepping back into the role. In 2006, she agreed to return and the series released Sherwood from her contract. Former executive producer and head writer Lynn Marie Latham said she was happy with t.he casting change because she was impressed by Khalil's work. "Christel is a brilliant actress," Latham said. "We're thrilled to have her part of the Y&R family again...Davetta did a fine job, but shows generally prefer to have original players back when they can get them." On her MySpace blog, Sherwood said she felt negativity from others on the set of the show before her firing. "I have yet to be informed of the reason behind this firing... by anyone at CBS," she said. "I suppose that bothers me and I don't think it's right or fair."

Both Khalil and Sherwood received NAACP Award nominations for Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in 2007. The next year, Khalil won the award and then gained another nomination in 2009. She earned a third Emmy nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in 2010 for the episode in which Lily finds out she has cancer. In 2012, Khalil garnered another NAACP Award nomination, and won her first Daytime Emmy Award for her portrayal.

In August 2012, news broke that Khalil was to leave The Young and the Restless after she and the soap were unable to come to terms during the negotiation of her contract, and a casting call was put out for a recast under the alias "Sally Tate". However, when asked about the Lily recast, Y&R executive producer Jill Farren Phelps said: "The female role is a recast for Christel's role. However, since we sent out that casting breakdown, negotiations with Christel have resumed. I don't yet know how that's going to work out." In September, head writer Josh Griffith confirmed in an interview with TV Guide that Khalil would be staying with the soap.