The Young and the Restless Comings & Goings: Roger Howarth Back On Set As Matt Clark!
It has been nearly a month since the nefarious Matt Clark last appeared on The Young and the Restless, but fans of Roger Howarth are in for a treat: the actor is back at the CBS studio where Y&R tapes, which means that his devious character’s reign of terror isn’t over quite yet!
Wicked Game
Howarth rose to fame in the daytime world courtesy of his long-running role as Todd Manning on One Life to Live, which he began playing in 1992, and wrapped up a nearly decade-long run on General Hospital in 2021. (On that show, he played three different characters, first Todd, then Franco, then Austin.) In August 2025, Y&R revealed that Howarth was joining the Genoa City ranks in a mystery role. When he made his on-air debut on October 31, 2025, viewers learned that while his character went by the name Mitch Bacall, he was actually Matt Clark, the villain who tormented Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Sharon (Sharon Case) in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. The role was originally played by Eddie Cibrian, with Rick Hearst (Ric, GH) taking over from 2000-01.
Speaking to Soap Opera Digest about his new alter ego, Howarth described Matt as “a true bad guy,” noting, “If a person is pretending to be another person, you kind of know everything about that person. Like, if they are lying about who they are, what else are they lying about? Matt, on some level, really believes in the life that he has been living all these years as Mitch — and the great thing about that is that it kind of guaranteed that the current Matt Clark was going to be very similar to the way he had been written [previously].”
Indeed, Matt wasted little time in wreaking havoc not only on Nick and Sharon but on their son, Noah (Lucas Adams), who had begun a steamy affair with “Mrs. Mitch Bacall,” Sienna (Tamara Braun). The Newmans banded together to stop Matt in his evildoing tracks, and in January, Victor (Eric Braeden) made the decision to mete out his own brand of justice against Matt, quite literally declaring himself the judge who would determine Matt’s fate. The character was last seen being dragged away by guards on Victor’s payroll.
While Victor taunted Matt that he would never see any of the Newmans again, it’s a safe bet that Matt will prove him wrong. On February 12, Howarth posted an Instagram story featuring an image of his parking spot at Television City, where the Y&R studio is housed, accompanied by the U2 song “It’s a Beautiful Day.” In the photo (below), the sign on his spot humorously pluralized his name as “Rogers.” Digest has confirmed that Howarth wasn’t paying a social call to the studio — the actor resumed taping earlier this week. Because Y&R tapes its episodes several weeks in advance, though, he likely won’t be seen on screen until March.
Are you looking forward to Howarth’s return as Matt? Let us know in the comments below!
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