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GH's Tonja Walker Shares How She Is Playing Olivia's Back-Story!

Photo: TonjaWalker/Getty Images

Photo: TonjaWalker/Getty Images

As viewers of ABC’s General Hospital know, Olivia (Tonja Walker) is out for revenge for everyone that she deemed wronged her. In fact, in key scenes with her brother Julian (William deVry) on Thursday’s episode (GH was pre-empted for the presidential inauguration on Friday) Olivia says she feels cheated out of everything that her dear brother head while she was in hiding, and in exile, on the other side of the world.  It was also revealed that Olivia is still carrying a disturbing grudge for Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) over both women’s love for the late Duke Lavery.

But while plenty has yet to be explained on-air as to how Olivia ended up alive and well when she was presumed dead in the first place, Tonja Walker took to social media to share the back-story she has created for herself as an actress:  “I know. I’m playing a back story where Olivia had to create a fantasy/reality life in order to survive. Not written, but for me it works. I’m playing in my mind that Olivia was “saved” by her father’s “Friends” which they promised do for him on his deathbed. (Her casket? maybe wax figure in casket? This I’m not concerned with) These Friends disposed of Colton, whom she loved, and proceeded do all they could to break her. Torture, isolation ,mind control, were used to make her do the bidding of the Chinese and  Russian mob. Instead of taking care of her she was tortured and isolated, imprisoned and blackmailed. It order to stay alive she escaped into a world that was based on reality that could give her a glimmer of hope. She used regressive or deep seated memories or fantasies to find strength and then found allies and made strong connections .. she discovered how strong she was… Liv discovered What was happening in PC, remembering bits and pieces. Some real some not. Now we will see what she has in mind… Again….none of this is written so I’m not divulging any secrets. As a matter of fact, the writers may have something better to explain the change she’s had and Liv’s regression!! But for those who have asked me what happened, this is what I made up… The story on GH is held very close to the vest… More will be revealed !!!!  Hope you enjoy. Thank you for your decades amazing loyalty and love.  Tonja”

So, what do you think happened to Olivia Jerome?  What do you think of the back-story Tonja shared for how she is filling in the blanks right now for Liv’s back-story? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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I didn’t watch GH back then but always read spoilers and recaps in the magazines, so kind of know how she fits. Anywho, as long as this leads to redeeming Julian, I am all for it! Stranger storylines have been out there, so why not. Nice to see they didn’t recast and used the original actress.

Since Duke died….he has gotten more storyline, more mentions, more family, and more people caring about him than he had when he was alive. As someone who never particularly cared for the character during any of his incarnations (except the Gregory Beecroft version) this kind of storytelling is just bizarre and unnecessary. He is dead! Now he has one woman mourning him, a sudden son, and a psycho whack job who was obsessed with him 30 years ago….but was long over it before she “died”. She had found love and redemption with Colton Shore, Felicia’s cousin. I just hate when soaps present characters who never grow, never change, and in fact, regress. 30 years is an awfully long time to be obsessed with someone…especially when he is DEAD. Griffin should have been Robert and Anna’s son from when they were presumed dead. It would have linked him to the fabric of the show…given Robin a sibling, and Anna another child. Duke was never a legacy character. He was on for 3 years in the 80’s…and had no ties to any family on the canvas. And his 2012 return was a bust! He spent most of his time playing dress up and having tea parties with Emma. They should let sleeping Dukes lie. Unless they are leading up to yet another return from the dead….this is all pointless drivel. To put some frame of reference time wise on this….if it was 1990 right now…..and the show was reaching back for storyline ideas…they would be going back to 1961 and dredging up old obsessions. Its not relevant now, especially for a character no longer on the canvas! If the show is going full steam ahead with Olivia…then they darn well better tie in veterans who were in her storyline orbit at the time like Lucy, Felicia, Anna etc. I like the actress…I think its an okay story twist….but there has to be some follow through on what caused her to suddenly be obsessed with a dead man again. Seems to me…she should be targeting Julian. After all…he supposedly killed her in 1990 and also killed Duke.

i’m disgusted…. with the weak links these writers bring

it’s all written in stone… or is it? I swear GH and DAYS share the same storylines.

it’s a crying shame…. literally… BOTH SHOWS; bring back BIG NAMES… for both shows.. only to be dumbed down…ie: the audience crying foul… and then some

expletive expletive

both characters @GH, Olivia Jerome played by the wildly present with so much gusto… that it’s a serious let down… not to see how truly Tonja Walker is capable.

of course she’s loopy and harboring so much fault that she’s gone and nutted up.

@DAYS Anna DiMera as played by the uber sexy fantastic missed so much… that this is serious hurt. unless Andre is able to pull out a biggie and – LOL.. oh wait… just bring Anna back… and get her back involved with Roman. she is the pendulum of all that is DiMera… with what we currently have on the canvas. She is the spirit and driving force with all of Salem’ites. she’s that able.

pissed off

of course she’s loopy and harboring so much fault that she’s gone and nutted up.

I already posted… this is all being done to give the Hope and Rafe show a get out of jail free card. RIGHT? god i’m sick of Hope.

we all know… that Julian and Ava must be cleared… HEY how much you wanna bet… that Ava is going to blame sis Olivia for changing Morgans meds. just as she told Julian about giving Olivia Falconeri son sugar pills.

you know… i’m disgusted… because both shows sole focus lacks so much vitality energy and imagination.

@GH. sole focus … love bringing up the dullards… Carly / Sonny / Jason / Sam

@DAYS. sole focus… Hope and Rafe seriously ? Hope baggage has been given so much reprieve. Rafe NEEDS TO man up and partay. he’s certainly not going to be getting anything from Hope… she’s too old for him.

what a waste of two dynamic actress with character aplomb… wasted

@GH head writers Jean and Shelley are truly looped out and LOST

Pretty sure Felicia and Colton were an item before Ariel returned so I sure hope they weren’t cousins!!!

Really good post! I bet Duke resurfaces!

Sorry!! Colton was Lucy’s cousin! My bad! Lol.

i believe Olivia was brainwashed by the mob and made to believe she was a woman named Alex Olanov and sent her to Llanview to frame her for the murder of Carlo Hess so they could take over Carlos mob connections and also had her involved with and marry Asa Buchanan in a plot to get their hands on his loot!

hi Jimh
Seems she came from a time when the soaps were still intriguing & exciting ..

su…i wish you were around to see the soaps like i had…they were really great, especially the murder/crime drama The Edge Of Night…it was the most suspenseful soap and fun to watch…most of the soaps were so good back then…i wouldn’t hang with friends until i was done with my soaps!…

I love your theory!!

Yep, that sound’s great !

Those were great shows. I was raised on Ryan’s Hope , AMC, OLTL, GH and then the Edge of Night. Lol- A time when writers actually could write a story to keep you anticipating and wanting more.

It seems like Tonja has put more thought into Olivia’s story than the writers probably will…

Exactly! That’s what is wrong with the current regime at GH. (And good for Tonja for doing it!)

So far from what I’ve seen the story is weak,,
It hasn’t had suspense.
It has given wonder as to who (and even that was obvious) but that has been about it for the intrigue. There was no surprise.

And good lord! Duke, again!! (insert your fav swear word) that was the kill-point.

It should have been the mama Wu..
Give Brad and Lucus a drama adventure upfront story..
All the ingredients were there= Brad mama Wu’s son Lucus Julian’s son deep in trouble saving each other and throw in Sonny, Ava and Jason..
That is the heavy side of GH talent wasted once again on the same players.

J&S are pitifully empty of imagination. Lazy and Weak writing.

Looking forward to Tonya on GH. Used to also like her bad-girl ro.le on OLTL as Alex Olanvo with Carlos Hessser.

You need to leave your brother and annealing matter of fact leave town

I keep wanting to say she has Duke alive and hidden somehow which is the only thing that would get Julian off the hook for Duke’s murder. I know I could be way off-base but right now, that’s the gut feeling I’m going with.

I like your theory.

We can only hope for that.

Why bring him back to kill him? (I had the same gripe about AJ…. grrrr)

Don’t even go there about AJ. I am still pissed they killed him off again. That was one character I wanted to see happy and we never got the chance.

Duke will be alive. She doesnt have him since she is so obsessed with those pictures. Duke will return and it gives Anna and Griffin something big to act in.

I think I missed an episode. How many pre-emptions/ reruns last week?

ditto

all these preempts and “classic” ep

That was the greatest episode of GH in months, in much part due to Tonja’s performance as a dangerous woman, and I hope that this continues to build. I love how Anna, Griffin and Duke are in the middle of it all. Well, Duke’s pictures and name anyway (Hint to TPTB!) Many would say all of this is too much to ask for but I will anyway for those who are not brave enough to due to previous writing gone wrong. I loved the details paid to the Naxie wedding as well. See even if we don’t have the budget for a big wedding, or whatever, the writing can be our savior in daytime serials.

“I am the queen of the Jerome family, and I am calling the shots”

Hell yeah! Olivia is back and crazier than ever! She will teach baby sister, Ava, what a real villainess looks like. The creepy little shrine to Duke in her office, with pictures of her face pasted over Anna’s, just proves her cray cray hasn’t been dialed back an inch. Julian is a fool to think they came to some compromise (Olivia said she blames him also for not getting her happy ending with Duke) and they will find some poor sap to blame for the car bombing. Rudge is probably planting explosive materials in the Jerome penthouse as we speak that will make it look like Julian tried to fake his death to frame Sonny by blowing up his own car. He is such an idiot to think she is really gonna lay off him after that soft moment they shared. Ha! Love seeing Tonja Walker back on GH and that flashback with Finola Hughes was gold! Olivia: Anna will suffer, and suffer, and suffer. Woah! She is coming for her, isn’t she? I wouldn’t be surprised if Olivia takes aim at Griffin (when she finds out he is Duke’s son to get one over on Anna) and it looks like he is ripe for the picking right now.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Ms. Walker in late 2012 – around the time that GH was dabbling with criss-crossing the GH and OLTL storylines (like putting the storyline in motion that Alcazar and Tomas were one and the same person since they were played by the same actor).. which I rather liked and wished they’d been able to move forward with. Anyway, Tonya pitched the Olivia/Alex story at the time and I thought it had merit and hoped that powers that be would have made it happen.. but alas.. the collapse of all that dashed those hopes.

But, well, maybe that’ll happen now. Congrats to Tonya on reviving one of her iconic roles.

My apologies – it’s “Tonja” not “Tonya”.

I love Tonja Walker, and I loved her character, Olivia Jerome. However, it seems ridiculous that she would still be obsessed over Anna and Duke. For longtime viewers, you’ll remember that Olivia redeemed herself over time and that was through finding genuine love with Colton Shore, who was Lucy’s cousin and Felicia’s ex-husband. She gave up on her vengeful ways and was even trying to warn Anna of something in that courtroom when Julian had gunned her down. If she wants revenge on him, that’s plausible, but the Anna and Duke thing had been buried. Colton grieved over Olivia and left town. The writers need to do their homework or explain the regression in a way that makes sense.

General Hospital

Is FBI Agent John “Jagger” Cates on the Level? GH’s Finola Hughes, Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson Weigh-in

When John “Jagger” Cates resurfaced on General Hospital in recent months in the form of Adam J. Harrington taking over the role originally played Antonio Sabato Jr,. know one knew quite sure just what side of the law is Cates really on? And, is he back in Port Charles to settle old scores with Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Jason (Steve Burton)?

What viewers have learned is that when Jason was taken captive two and half years ago, back in November of 2021, he was taken to Quantico, where Agent Cates had multiple RICO violations on Jason and was going to send him to prison for years, unless he worked for Cates and his team, in which Jason has been an informant working on the inside on the Pikeman arms deal case, or so it appears.

Now on the latest episode of Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson’s Daily Drama podcast, Finola Hughes (Anna) stopped by to chat with her GH co-stars and all three weighed-in on just what they think maybe going on with John Cates.

Photo: ABC

Bradford Anderson brought up that maybe Agent Cates isn’t working on the level. Hughes responded, “I don’t know, I’m not sure.” Burton added, “Yeah, we’re not sure. There’s some unknowns coming, so we’ll figure that out. But, it’s been a fun story to play for sure. I really like it. A lot of layers to it. I’s been excellent stuff to be back with for sure.”

Finola added, “I think we’re gonna be going through finding out who certain people are that are coming on canvas, like John Cates and Brennan (Charles Mesure) and where do they all fit in?”

Courtesy/ABC

Steve added, “You’ve got Pikeman and what their real motives are. “Jagger” obviously. And then, Pikeman is not facing on-screen.” The question of if Pikeman is a person also got brought by Anderson, to which his co-stars added, they believe it’s a company.

Courtesy/ABC

Explaining more about Brennan and what he was up to was answered by Hughes,”That’s a sort of throwback, perhaps back in the day at WSB. He just came on the canvas briefly. Nobody knows if he’s goo (or bad). I (Anna) got him put in prison, so he’s off, and out of the way right now.”

You can check out the latest edition of the Daily Drama podcast below.

Now let us know, who do you think John “Jagger” Cates is working for? FBI, Pikeman, himself, or some other unknown entity or enemy? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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General Hospital

Nancy Lee Grahn’s Star-Studded ALS Fundraiser Reveals “I’ll Be There” Video Featuring Soap Opera Notables

Talk about your impressive line-up! It’s a soap fans dream and for a great cause. General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) is prepping her one-night only ALS fundraiser which will feature many of her friends and co-stars.

The benefit is set for May 4th in Glendale, California. Slated to participate are Genie Francis, Jane Elliot, Peter Bergman, Maurice Benard, Eileen Davidson, Thorsten Kaye, Michelle Stafford, Stephen Nichols, Rena Sofer, Jason Thompson, Kelly Monaco, Melissa Claire Egan, Maura West, Kristina Wagner, Gregory Harrison, Trevor St. John, Kate Mansi, Kirsten Storms, Cynthia Watros, and many others.

On Wednesday, Grahn took to her social media and released an “I’ll be there” video shout-out featuring, Monaco, Elliot, Bergman, Bernard, West, Harrison, St. John and more. In a touching and important moment in the new video, Michelle Strogny, who is battling ALS, is featured.

Photo: ABC

Previously, in speaking with Soap Opera Digest on the impetus of the event, Grahn recalled, “I was actually doing Zoom events during Covid and I met this woman that I just fell in love with, Michelle Strojny. At the time, Michelle had been living with ALS for four years. Now, it’s five years. She is a mom of a teenage son, she has the most wonderful husband, and she has been dealing with this [disease] for quite a while. And obviously, there isn’t a cure yet. It’s not survivable yet. But as she says, it’s not incurable. Nothing is; it’s underfunded. But anyway, I just really dug this woman. She is so grounded and filled with grace, and she spends all of her time working to raise money for the cause. We did a fundraiser for her last year and then I thought, ‘You know what? The soaps don’t ever get together to do something for charity.’ Collectively, we have this amazing community and we don’t collectively use it for a good cause, and I think it’s such an easy thing for us to do and we could potentially really make a difference.”

As GH viewers know, Gregory Harrison is playing the character of Gregory Chase, who is also battling ALS in a touching storyline that is currently playing out shedding a light on this disease.

For information on Nancy’s event, including the stars who are s scheduled to participate click here. To purchase tickets to the event click here.

Check out the video featuring Nancy’s friends and co-stars below.  Now let us know, your thought son the line-up for the benefit and helping raise awareness and funds for ALS research via the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Writer Shannon Peace Let Go, and Shares on Sprina: “One of My Only Regrets is to Not Have the Opportunity to Develop That ‘Ship’ Further”

As General Hospital’s new head writing team of Elizabeth Korte and Patrick Mulcahy gets off the ground and running, there are still changes a foot on the writing team.

Now comes word via breakdown writer Shannon Peace that she is no longer on contract with the long-running ABC soap heading into its 61st season. Peace shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram, thanking the fans, and the show for the opportunity and the importance of diversity in the writers room.

Peace began, “After almost 3 years on staff and 106 episodes penned, I am no longer on contract with General Hospital. Writing for this country’s longest running television serial drama has been an education of epic proportions; I will forever be grateful that I earned my WGA card on a daytime fixture that holds memories for so many.” (Peace pictured below with GH EP Frank Valentini and script writer, Charlotte Gibson from about ten months ago).

Photo: SPeaceIG

Shannon added “Even more importantly, as the sole Black breakdown writer (and only POC in the writers room) during my tenure, I pushed for vital interactions and discussions that prioritized inclusion, visibility, and representation”

The writer pointed to the example of vital interaction when in story, “Stella and Portia’s frank July 2022 conversation about the role race played in Esme’s framing of Trina is just one example of the impact I’m gratified to have had.”

Acknowledging former GH co-head writers was also part of Peace’s farewell expressing, “Appreciation to my former bosses, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor – not only taking a chance on me, but for valuing my opinion and championing my voice.”

Courtesy/ABC

Many GH fans know that Peace was key to the development of the love story between Trina Robinson and Spencer Cassadine as played by Tabyana Ali and Nicholas Chavez. Shannon gave a special shout-out to ‘Sprina’ fans, “I also want to thank fans who were supportive of my work, especially the recognition of my love for ‘Sprina’. One of my only regrets is not having to develop that ‘ship’ further.”

She concludes her statement with,”In the aftermath of a historic writer’s strike that shed new light on the troubling ways writers are regarded in daytime, my sincere hope is that General Hospital recommits to valuing staff writer efforts and input, with a more intentional focus on diverse viewpoints — and thrives for another 60 years.”

Accompanying her post, Shannon added, “Thank you all for the love and support these last few years. I hope GH fans get all they hope for and more!”

So, what do you think about GH not renewing Shannon’s contract? Will there be more continued changes afoot? What do you think is the future of ‘Sprina’ anyway at this point as viewers wait to see if Nicholas Chavez officially returns to the show?  Comment below.

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