Introduced by former head writer Maria Arena Bell, the character debuted during the episode airing on December 2, 2009, portrayed by William Russ.

Russ was let go shortly after his debut because producers wanted to take the character in a different direction, resulting in the hiring of Stephen Nichols as his replacement.

[1][2] Initially, Russ' casting was questioned by the press due to the lack of information on the character and the unsuccessful contract negotiations between Sony Pictures Television and Eric Braeden, who portrays icon businessman Victor Newman.

Former executive producer and head writer Maria Arena Bell released a statement concerning the casting switch, saying that Russ is a "talented actor" and they "enjoyed working with him", but they had decided to take the character in a "different direction".

[4][5] Bell and co-executive producer Paul Rauch stated that Nichols brought many "complexities, a strength, sexuality, and drama to this character".

[6] Afterward, Nelson Branco of TV Guide revealed that former vice president of CBS Daytime, Barbara Bloom, wanted Nichols for the role from the start.

[13] The soap opera's official website describes the character as the "powerful millionaire-tycoon with a secret agenda to take everything from his long-lost mother Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper).

"[14] Nichols describes Tucker as "a self-made success, a regular guy who can tend bar and shoot pool and talk shit with anybody.

As a teenager, he falls in love with a girl named Genevieve (Genie Francis), who ends up breaking his heart by running off to Australia with Colin Atkinson (Tristan Rogers).

Hellstrom’s (Thad Luckinbill) employer, while pursuing a business deal with Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper) and beginning an affair with Jill Abbott (Jess Walton).

After years of planning, Tucker had finally gotten his revenge on Katherine for giving him away and he begins slowly dismantling Chancellor Industries by selling its subsidiaries.

Adam's father Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) wins Jabot in a bidding war; Tucker refuses to hire Jill at Chancellor Industries.

Thanks to Jill, Tucker is investigated by the SEC while he bonds with Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson), who is struggling with letting go of the child she thought was her daughter.

Tucker asks J. T. to help him acquire Newman Enterprises cosmetics subsidiary, Beauty of Nature, while Ashley accepts the CEO position at Jabot.

Ashley and Tucker go to Japan and discover Victor's daughter, Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle), bribing the Japanese Minister of Zoning with an antique gun.

However, Ashley decides against turning Victor into the feds to protect the company and her daughter, and Tucker agrees to obtain Beauty of Nature another way.

Victoria reveals that she is pursuing Beauty of Nature in the lawsuit and she promises to sell it to him, on the condition that she is the CEO of the newly merged cosmetics company.

Tucker stands in as the godfather of Moses Winters, the son of his longtime friend and confidant, Sofia Dupre (Julia Pace Mitchell).

"Instead of dragging the story line out for years, Tucker discovered the news pretty quickly and has had to deal with the ramifications of not putting his considerable assets toward finding his son, while PI Paul, who Katherine probably hired for a chicken dinner, solved the case in a matter of days.

In one fell swoop, there's another layer to the discontent between mother and son (Katherine hid the truth from Tucker) and Devon's had to cope with learning he's the child of billionaires, not to mention it brought Debbi Morgan (Yolanda/Harmony) into the fold.

"[22] Roger Newcomb and Matt Richenthal, writing for websites We Love Soaps and TV Fanatic respectively, both described the decision to replace Russ with Nichols as surprising.

[23][24] Allison Waldman of AOL TV said the recast was "bad news", as Russ was "doing just fine as Tucker McCall, new billionaire in Genoa City".

[26] Gwen Morrett of About.com said that Nichols joining The Young and the Restless was "truly their gain" from Days of Our Lives (where the actor had previously portrayed Steve Johnson).

[27] Upon Nichols' debut, Megan Lynn of SoapNet wrote: "Stephen certainly has soap experience — he's previously played Steve Johnson on Days of our Lives and Stefan Cassadine on General Hospital, but then again – we were kind of warming up to William.

"[6] In August 2010, Tommy Garrett of Canyon News wrote of Nichols' portrayal, saying: "Now going into the 21st century, Stephen has reinvented another part of himself and inhabits Genoa City as the town’s newest and most handsome billionaire on CBS’s number-one daytime drama The Young and the Restless.

"[16] Nekeeta Borden of Zap2it was favorable of the early pairing of Tucker and Ashley, giving them an "honorable mention" on a list of "curiously quirky couplings".

[29] Candace Young of the website She Knows Soaps wrote that, "Ashley and Tucker have been interesting as a power couple, if you will, in business and the corporate world.

praised the storyline revealing Tucker as Devon's father as it gave the soap opera's matriarch, Katherine, a biracial grandson.

[22] In May 2012, when speculation arose that a male star would be exiting the soap opera, Sara Bibel of Xfinity wrote that it could be Tucker, saying: "Who despite being played by one of daytime’s most popular actor's [sic] has never really gelled with the audience.

"[8] Bibel wrote: "The billionaire who turned out to be Katherine’s long lost son and Devon’s father suffered from inconsistent writing throughout his three year tenure on the show.