"Young and Restless'" decision to ax Vincent Irizarry (ex-David Chow) is a great big gain for "All My Children" and Irizarry fans. AMC's brilliant new head writer is bringing Irizarry back as the mercurial Dr. David Hayward. The not-so-good Dr. Hayward started out as Erica's love interest. When that fizzled, Hayward went after Dixie. He and Tad hated each other. For eight years, Hayward caused heartache and much mayhem. He used his ability to gain drugs to turn a simple party into a sex orgy. When his brother Leo came to town, he softened. So for eight years you never knew what he would do. For some odd reason, Megan McTavish got rid of the character. Well, come this fall the doctor is back on AMC. When David left, it was revealed that he was Babe's father and Krystal's ex. Krystal is now married to Tad. Tad's long-lost daughter, Kathy, has turned into the bad seed. Of course Tad and David still hate each other. So this is a great story that Michael E. Knight has long deserved. Chuck Pratt Jr. is going great guns in his first month as the new head writer for AMC — not just for the return of Irizarry, but he has decided which non-working story lines need to be sliced and diced. He also knows what plots to develop. What a difference a good writer makes.

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This week, one of the dreaded divas of daytime publishing was let go. Carolyn Hinsey served as editor for both Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly. We will not get into any examples of how she wielded her power. However, if you go on jossip.com you will see thousands of e-mails by actors, writers (not I) and publicists who say "she done them wrong."

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Nice to see you. Now get out of here. Rumors have it that Paul Rauch lasted a mere week as the consultant for "Young and Restless." As we reported earlier, Rauch is a great producer, but is bombastic and proud of it. One time he told me, "I want the actors to stay in their playpen." He loved that that quote was used. If he ever suggested that to Eric Braeden (Victor), he would be invited to go a round in Braeden's personal boxing ring.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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