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Everyone on Young & Restless believes their Ian Ward problem is a thing of the past, so they’ll be taken completely off guard when he makes his inevitable return… and we can’t wait!

As it turns out, Ray Wise is as eager as Young & Restless viewers are for Ian to come back and stir the pot. Since his last scene, he’s confessed that his alter-ego’s exit coming when it did left him taken aback given that he “didn’t want to leave.”

His most recent stint saw Ward mixing it up with some characters in Genoa City he’d never interacted with in the past, including Mariah’s wife, Tessa Porter, and his rather volatile partner in crime, Jordan Howard. Considering that Ian professed his love for Claire’s crazy aunt during his showdown with the Newmans at the ranch, it would be a shame if they didn’t return together. Find out how Jordan could have survived here.

In any case, Ian faced down Victor at the ranch and, unsurprisingly, ended up shot during a struggle for the gun Ward had snatched from the Black Knight’s henchman. And while Mariah and Sharon had their say whilst standing over Ian’s supposedly dead body, fans were hoping they, as well as Daniel, would get more of an opportunity to take their revenge on the man who brought such pain and chaos into their lives, leaving them forever changed. That’s just one of the reasons we’re all eagerly awaiting the former cult leader’s big comeback, which is not only possible, but probable, given that he woke up in the ambulance last we saw him.

When asked about a potential return, Wise teased in SOD, “You can’t keep a good villain down, you know?” He’s banking on the door always being open for Ian to come back to wreak more of his unique brand of havoc… and is urging Young & Restless fans to be vocal about wanting him back for another run.

When might Ian return? The answer, of course, is one never knows. It’s the element of surprise that will make his comeback so compelling, not only for his victims, but also the audience… and Wise sounds ready to go whenever he gets the call!