Finally! After weeks of heated negotiations, Emmy-winning actress Heather Tom (Victoria Newman) has re-signed with The Young and the Restless.

"I am very excited about continuing to work with my Y&R family, and I look forward to the challenges Victoria will face in the future," the actress said in a statement.

Touch-and-go contract negotiations are becoming commonplace, but this situation was particularly interesting. Tom left the show once before, and her recast, Sarah Aldrich, simply couldn't cut it in the role. Therefore, the soap went to great lengths to keep Tom this time around. The sticking point was not money, but rather "out clauses" - Tom frequently takes to the stage in Los Angeles, and is also looking to break into prime-time TV.

Y&R wasn't about to roll over and play dead, and the show reportedly secured Carrie Genzel (ex-Skye, AMC; ex-Ali, DAYS) as a replacement for Tom in case negotiations fell through. Cool heads prevailed, an agreement was reached, and Tom signed another three-year contract.

Crisis averted.