■ For Loren Lott, who has
portrayed Y&R’s Ana since
last November, it came as
quite a surprise when she
was informed that her time
on the show was coming to
an end. “I just started a new
storyline with Theo and
Summer, and I definitely
thought that was going to
continue, especially because
I was branching out from
just being under Devon so
much,” the actress begins.
“I was interested to see
where that was going and
what they were doing with
that. I was definitely excited
for that storyline because it
was different than any of the
others that I had.”
It was business as
usual on the set when Lott
wrapped her scenes for the
day. “I went to my dressing
room and got a call from my
agent and my whole team,”
she recounts. “The last time
the whole team was on the
phone was because I had
just booked something, but
the energy just seemed a
little interesting. They were
like, ‘We just want you
to know they are thinking
about ending your story-
line.’ At first it seemed like
this was something in the air
and they were just consider-
ing. And then I waited thatday in the dressing room
and no one came to the
room, so I left. I was like,
‘Maybe it was a joke.’ ”
Lott would later receive
a phone call at home
from Executive Producer
Anthony Morina. “He let
me know that they didn’t
know where to take my sto-
ryline, but he was really
sweet about it,” she shares.
“He let me know some of
their favorite moments
of me on-screen. It was
so cool. He said, ‘Wow,
you’re taking it well.’ And I
was like, ‘I mean, what am
I supposed to do? Hop on
your back?’ ”
Lott first told her TV
brother Bryton James
(Devon) and Brytni Sarpy
(Elena). “I called both of
them at the same time, we
FaceTimed together, and
they were really, really
sad,” she sighs. “We’ve
gotten extremely close.We’re a family in real life
and we have a secret hand-
shake. A black storyline
secret handshake!”
Lott’s final day on the
show was a surreal expe-
rience. “I still wasn’t 100
percent sure if it was my
last episode,” she explains.
“There was no definite
confirmation really, ever.
The only way I knew that it
was legit over was after my
final line, they said over the
speaker, ‘Ladies and gentle-
men, the wonderful Ms.
Loren Lott.’ And they all
clapped for me. I was like,
‘Okay, so it is over.’ ”
As Lott looks forward
to new projects (“I’m still
having fun with YouTube
and social media, where I
make a little change on the
side and also with singing
and appearances”), she will
fondly remember her Y&R
experience. “Overall, it was
a blessing,” she smiles. “I
got so much from Y&R. I’m
in so many magazines, I’ve
gotten to hug so many fans,
I got to go to Emmy parties
and I got to kiss Shemar
Moore [ex-Malcolm]! I
have no complaints.”
And if Y&R should need
Lott to reprise Ana in the
future, the actress assures,
“Yeah, I’d come back!
This is family forever. It’d
be so great at any time to
work with my Y&R fam-
ily again. They’ve been so
special.”JILL^ JOHNSON/JPILOREN LOTT
OUT AT Y&R
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