Actress to play Valerie Grant

Man they really kept this on a hush.Im happy she's joined the show though. She's a great actress.

First post updated with airdate of Oct. 25.

I'm glad they got an experienced actress in the role. Still a little disappointed that Tina Andrews wasn't chosen to reprise her role, mainly for nostalgia reasons. Although the only people that Tina's Valerie might have interacted with that are still on the show are Doug and Julie. So I guess there would be very little in the way of flashbacks to use.

And one minor complaint, Vanessa looks a little too young for the part. I wasn't watching back then but for the long-time viewers, wasn't Valerie in her late teens maybe 20 in the 70s? And the actress who played Valerie in the early 80s looked about mid 20s to possibly late 20s in the YouTube clips I saw. So that would make Valerie at least 60. Vanessa Williams (according to IMDB) is 53 and in the pictures I've seen looks younger. I suppose they could have Vanessa play older than she is, especially if they pair her up with Abe.

I only know about Valerie from the 35th anniversary book. I remember her rewarding about getting involved with David banning right? Is there any background on her? I have to say im excited they are bringing these characters back. Gives us viewers a chance who never got the good old days to see these characters.