General Hospital
ABC Exec Nathan Varni Says No Truth To GH & Roger Howarth Contract Talk Rumors!

Courtesy/ABC
Over the last 36 hours takes on a blind item of a “veteran actor” being subject to difficult negotiations from the network in which they appear picked up steam. It then became rumored to be of fan favorite Roger Howarth (Franco) and General Hospital.
ABC executive Nathan Varni, who helps oversee General Hospital came forward on his facebook page clearing the air on this by stating: “Soooo you know how sometimes people like to get our loyal GH fans all fired up over nothing? That sadly happened earlier today in regard to the magnificent & talented Roger Howarth. For some reason a certain blogger took a blind item which was posted and fooled everyone into believing it was Roger & GH related. I’m happy to confirm their “sources” perhaps thought today was April Fools Day and decided to completely make up the story without ever reaching out to ABC to ask the question. Perhaps asking for the real answer would take the fun out of reporting inaccurate information. The truth is that blind item had and has absolutely nothing to do with GH or Mr. Howarth. For those who believed it, I’m truly sorry they fooled you and for everyone who loves and watches & supports GH, I say thank you on behalf of one of the hardest working crews and cast I’ve ever been fortunate enough to work with, we can’t tell you how much we all appreciate your viewership!”
So, glad to know that things look to be good between Howarth and ABC? What did you think of Nathan’s statement? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
So…does he have a contract, or not?
I am stunned by this man’s unprofessionalism and immaturity while utilizing social media!! A simple old-school “We don’t comment on ongoing contract negotiations” would suffice. He talks in circles and riddles. He invariably insults someone. It always sounds like he is putting spin on something, and always sounds like he has something to hide.
Exactly Dylan –
Well said!
Then who was or is the difficult contract negotiations about then? That begs the question!
I’ve been reading a lot about stalled contract negotiations with Tyler Christopher. He has also announced a leave of absence. They have temporarily recast Nicholas
Roger is a great actor but yet again he’s not getting good material! Roger is gold but with the material he’s getting is horrible these writers have to use strong actors GH is becoming nothing but Sonny and Carly show with Alexis and Julian. They need to make a change ASAP you have so many talented actors Michelle Stanford, Roger, Maura and they all are just in the back burner.
I so disagree. I LOVE Roger’s Franco. He plays a man who is struggling with himself…to have confidence in his abilities to do right by those he loves while facing the wrath of half the hypocrites in town who have committed crimes as bad or worse. Love how he stood by Carly until she turned on him, how he loved Nina, how he loves Kiki and lil Jake…not to mention that cute goofball, his dad, Scott Baldwin who I also love. Wish we’d see more of him too.
Usually the official ABC comment is that they have no comment on an actor’s contract status or negotiations. But then Mr. Varni feels compelled to post something on his PERSONAL Facebook page, AGAIN. He did it with Rebecca Herbst during her contentious negotiations too.
I do not believe that this is his job description, and if he is speaking officially on behalf of the show, then he should be posting on the official General Hospital Facebook Page, not his personal one. And further by commenting on something that was started on a less than legitimate source, he has just legitimized it.
If Mr. Varni were my employee he would be fired for his lack of discretion. What a mess.
This is the same guy who PMed confidential information about Becky Herbst’s contract negotiations to a fan. He has no credibility whatsoever.
I wish they had gave him another character other then Franco. He is a awesome actor, But no one can replace James Franco
No one *should’ve* replaced James Franco. What a stupid story. Very ill-conceived from the start. Should’ve left it all in the past where it belonged.
Basically he’s playing a different character with the same name. Can’t compare James to Roger in the role because the role was different when James Franco played it. I think people have to look at this version of Franco as if he’s a new character.
I appreciate the fact that Nathan Varni takes the time to read & respond to some of the thousands of tweets he receives. As for Roger Howarth I think he is talented & I enjoy his acting. He is a little stand-offish with fans which is a shame and I personally do not like him in the role as Franco. Bad choice for him as a character but he certainly gives his all in each performance. If he is going thru contract negotiations I wish him the best!
Everything that I’ve seen about Roger Howarth from his personal appearances says that he is warm and engaging with his fans.
But that’s just it, NYca81, Varni speands way too much time on social media defending and denying and sometimes it just begs the observation that “me thinks thou protests too much.”
Todd/Franco is the only reason I watch G.H. again!!!
RoHo was brought back as Franco Franks and not Todd Manning which is a failed character on GH.
You had to be snarky? Todd will always be, I.e. Franco, the dude from Flash, whatever his endeavors are. Todd came first!!
It’s not a fail for me…I love Roger’s Franco. I love James Franco, but for all intents and purposes they changed the character Franco’s personality so I don’t compare. I love THIS more human, poignant version.
I was not being snarky, but stating what I see as RoHo continuously playing OLTL’s Todd Manning on GH after PP yanked the character in 2013. Todd Manning is RoHo’s go to role instead of trying something new as a serial killer now trying to live a somewhat normal life.
Nothing says human like burying your mother.
Was THAT snarky? Lol…
That’s a good thing! Love RH as Franco!
Agree
Ah Nathan, its May, not April AND so you criticize a blogger for starting a rumor BUT you offer no assurance that Roger will or has signed a new contract! Whose zooming who?
Yeah cause ABC never lies about show/actor rumors. The only way you know when ABC lies to it’s viewers is when their lips are moving.
Exactly!!!
clh…oh, I agree. As far as I’m concerned, this, uh, latest ‘stunt’ is further proof that ABC/Disney themselves do nothing but lie, manipulate and ‘perform’ all kinds of damage control. When, oh, when will those pinheads at ABC/Disney REALIZE that us soap fans are FAR FROM STUPID?!?!?!?!?! Truly dumb as hell.
Was that an answer.. Is he running for the presidency.. Geez
Me thinks the gentleman protesteth too much! But seriously I love Howarth and I agree with all those who wish GH would write better stuff for him. Somehow they have to get Franco’s history behind him so he can stop apologizing for it or defending it all the time. That’s why I liked the romane with Nina — it was two broken people who made terrible mistakes trying to get life right. I wish they had stayed on that track.
I agree. What assurance to we have that Roger will be sticking around? Why was this man compelled to put something out on Facebook? Seems a bit suspicious to me.
I love Roger Howarth and although he’s doing an incredible job as Franco, he’ll always be “Todd” to me. He’s awesome! One of the main reasons I continue to watch GH.
ahhha soap fans are huge on starting rumors, I paid no attention to and wait for whomever to speak.
I have now heard that is was a rumor, case closed.
su0000, seriously? You’re willing to close the case because (gulp) NATHAN VARNI says it was a rumor?
I mean, it might have been. You’re right that the soap community is often one big rumor mill, with people getting their knickers in a twist over ab-so-lute-ly nothing.
But based on the past, I would not believe Mr. Varni if he told me the sun rises in the east.
These contract negotiations are suppose to be in private Varni is so unprofessional did the same thing to Becky he needs to zip it.
Wasn’t it Daytime Confidential that did that with their blind items?
Love Roger! Love GH! Hope they stay together for a very long time!
there is no better actor on daytime
Nathan has been less than fwd lately and sadly, so haven’t many. You all.leak to the special few and they give us a little. Idk. I care your not utilizing ava, Franco, Lucas, Brad, epiphany, Feliz, etc. You use Roger and Maura wrong. History soap characters,.fool.in abc
I agree with Tae ; it’s become Sonny and Carly’s show with Sonny’s character allowed to run rough shod over everyone Someone needs to stand up to him. The writers have already allowed Michael to forget that Sonny killed A.J. in cold blood ; plus, he only spent a few weeks in prison. It seems as if I’m about to leave G.H. again! My last straw was when Sonny beat Julian in his own house. Julian is always written to be weak to me Give other people in town a backbone. Also, the writers had Anna teaming up with Sonny . What a mess!
….Not only that, Belle; but, Carly, who has zero rights to Avery, has the audacity to stick it to Ava.
What exactly makes Sonny a better parent than Ava? And, who, on God’s green earth, crowned Carly queen mother?
We are subjected to watch, ingest and digest the notion that Sonny is now Sir Gawain, in shiny armor? Lawful abider of the law? He is a murderer!!
Enough with all these efforts ( including Anna) to avenge Duke’s death by turning the world on its head. Who, may I ask, is avenging AJ’s death? Disturbing, that!!
PS: forever RoHo. He has been fab, as Franco….he is Franco. The only drawback for me is watching Nina possibly fall apart. By the same token, this break-up may be the making of Nina….find yourself, Nina, and pick yourself up!!
Good morning Belle.
As a 30 year plus viewer of GH I have always divided the show into pre-Sonny and Post Sonny.
A far better show before. Sonny should have been a one or two arc character. To make him the center of the show wrong.
Oh, to bring back the late 70s and 89s!
GREAT ACTOR…….GIVE HIM THE STORY LINE HE DESERVES.
Totally agree with you! Roger is the sole reason I ever started watching GH in the first place and I hope he and TPTB can iron out a new contract to keep him on the show for many many years to come! Moreover, he deserves a juicy front burner story line that allows him to showcase his amazing talent. He is definitely thee best actor on daytime!
It has been heartbreaking to see him betrayed by Carly and to watch Nina break up with him.
Now, I am rooting for a lasting romance to blossom between Franco and Elizabeth. Loved how he literally caught her backstage at The Nurses Ball. When he came to Jake’s rescue to do a little bit of a duet, I melted. Leaping into action to instill confidence in the little boy was so sweet.
I have followed Roger on OLTL, ATWT and GH for over 20 years. I enjoy and appreciate his captivating performances so much.
Finally, I think it is an abomination that he hasn’t collected his so richly deserved share of Lead Actor Emmys!!
I’m glad Nathan said something because I’d hate to go through the same misery over Roger than I went through over Michael. I have watched Roger for 24 years and he is as good as it gets, along with Michael Easton. They need to keep the 2 best actors if they want to keep me as a very supportive mega fan!
Reading TVLine’s top article, it looks like it was Tyler Christopher….
Aaah it’s Tyler Christopher not Roger.
Lol MissySnow…Franco had residual crazy when they began writing for him. He also sounded like a 2-year-old half the time. I thought the character at THAT time was imbecilic compared to James Franco’s genius socio_psychopath. But they evolved Roger’s Franco since then. They gave him Nina, Kiki and Scott to love…and had them love him back. They gave him little Jake, who I believe he’s crazy about. So he was redeemed a long time ago for me…
And Heather? She’s too freaky to die!
Celia, I agree with you when you asked who’s avenging A.J.’s death? It certainly isn’t Michael , Dante , or any other law abiding citizen. I also agree that Sonny and Carly act as if they’re holier than thou when it comes to Avery and Anna acts as if Duke was a Sunday School Teacher. G.H.’s writers need to write for all of its fans and not just Sonny’s fans.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).
On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.
Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC
HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT
Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”
Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”
Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Photo: ABC
DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES
In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”
Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”
You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.
Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.
General Hospital
GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.
However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.
Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC
FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG
Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!
Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”
MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL
Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).
Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI
PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY
Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”
It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”
A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons
IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS
As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”
He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”
Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.”
So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Admits That He Didn’t Expect the Role of Michael Corinthos to be Recast, and Would Consider Working on Another Soap (Exclusive)

Chad Duell, the Daytime Emmy-winning actor, who stepped away from the pivotal role of Michael Corinthos on General Hospital, opened up about: his previous decision to leave the series after nearly 15 years, where’s he’s at now after time away from the demands of a daytime soap opera, and took a stroll down memory lane with some of Michael’s most-acclaimed storyline during his run, during a livestream chat on August 19 on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.
Viewers last saw Duell on-screen as Michael in January of 2025, and with his successor in the role, Rory Gibson making his debut at the GH Nurses’ Ball in episodes that aired later in May. It was clear that during the conversation, Chad was a bit surprised that the GH brass decided to recast him when he thought he was just taking some much needed time off.
Burn-out of the daily grind of being on a soap was definitely a part of Chad’s decision to take a break. Duell explained “People know when you’re doing something for so long or your character is kind of in the same place for so long or doing the same stuff over and over again, you do get a a little burnt out, you get a little stiff, stale, a little stiff at times. I didn’t want that to be any sort of lasting impression. I have 15 years of a body of work of I’ve done on that show, which is fantastic.”

Photo: ABC
WHILE CHAD WAS AWAY GH RECAST MICHAEL CORINTHOS WITH RORY GIBSON
Chad shared, his mindset when leaving GH was, “I’m taking some time away, we’ll see what happens.” Then he added, “Obviously, they decided to go in a different direction with Michael when I was gone. I didn’t think they were going to bring somebody back in my place. But you know, it’s the business. You never know what can happen.”
Duell also shared he has not watched a single episode of General Hospital since he left the series, but now feels he reenergized following the loss of his father and stepping away from the GH, “I’m in a place now mentally, where I’m ready to sink my teeth into it again.”

Courtesy/ABC
Even though he is no longer Michael on GH, Chad was very happy with his final storyline where Michael was set on fire when a bomb exploded at Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) penthouse. “It was fun to put him in a dangerous situation, because I was wanting Michael to be in something scary instead of trying to be a hero character or just things happening around him, but to be the center point of tragedy happening to him. (I always saw) Michael as the heart of the (Corinthos) family.”
When Michael was badly burned the show chose not burn his face, which normally a soap does when they are recasting role and switching actors. Chad weighed-in, “They didn’t burn my face because I told Frank Valentini (EP, GH) I’m willing to come back. It was just a little bit of a break. So, I assumed that if they would have burned my face, they could have brought somebody back looking different than me… if that’s what their plan was.”

Courtesy/ABC
MEMORABLE MICHAEL STORYLINES
One of Chad’s most memorable performances was the in the storyline of Michael’s rape while he was sentenced to prison in 2010 and the confession of it in 2011. “It was so well-written and I was very nervous,” recalled Chad. “When I get really nervous about something, it ends up being really good when I do it, because it just means I care a lot about it”
“I have to put a lot of effort and work into it, and I really want it to be good. I was working with Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) and Steve Burton (Jason) a lot during those scenes, and Laura Wright (Carly). It was great working with Steve and Dominic, especially, during that storyline.
A NEW SOAP ROLE FOR CHAD?
As to a future soap opera role, Chad is open to the idea and would love to jump back in to a juicy role, “I know people over at The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless. They know that if they’re interested, I would love to come in for a screen test or something, and they can see what I’m doing.”
Meanwhile, Chad has been busy putting out new music under the moniker Duelly and during the interview he explains how he creates his EDM tracks and much more. You can stream his latest single, Static in the Quiet Room on Spotify, Apple Music and You Tube Music.
You can check out the full conversation with Chad Duell below.
Now let us know: what show would you like to see Chad cast on down the line? BTG, DAYS, B&B, Y&R, or a new role on GH? What did you think of his thoughts on the casting switch while he was away in the role of Michael? What was your favorite Michael storyline during Chad’s 15-year run on the ABC soap opera? Let us know via the comment section.
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