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

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!
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
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom

This week on all-new episodes of General Hospital, the race is on! Can Lulu (Alexa Havins) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) get to Rocco (Finn Carr) and Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) in time to ensure their safety from Cullum (Andrew Hawkes)? Can Carly (Laura Wright) with the help of her brother, Lucas (Van Hansis) rescue Josslyn (Eden McCoy) from captivity at Wyndemere? These questions may be answered, plus the return of the one and only Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) are on tap!
In the just released General Hospital spoilers video for the week of June 22-26, Lulu tells her mother, Laura (Genie Francis), “Dante and I have to get to Rocco before Cullum!” Meanwhile, Rocco (Finn Carr) looks angered and emotional as Britt walks through their cabin hideout. Does Rocco know his parents are on the way to find them, or has Cullum already tracked them down to the British Virgin Islands?
Back in Port Charles, Carly is informing Lucas that his niece, “is a WSB agent.” She knows Josslyn (Eden McCoy) is being held against her will at Wyndemere, and she has to find a way to get her out. Lucas agrees with Carly’s plan of, “We go in and we don’t leave without Josslyn!” Elsewhere, Josslyn is looking worried for her future as she is stuck in captivity thanks to Cassius, Cullum and Sidwell!

Courtesy/ABC
FINOLA HUGHES RETURNS
The final moments of the teaser promo reveal Anna in a psychiatric clinic in France. We have not seen her for months after Cullum, Sidwell and Pascal fed her hallucinogenics to make her believe her arch nemesis, Cesar Faison was alive!
Now, the doctors walk towards her hospital bed, where we see the super spy calmly knitting. Is Anna back to normal and playing everyone to get out of her predicament, or does she still remain deeply traumatized … or both?
Take a look at the rest of the official GH spoilers for the week below.
MONDAY, JUNE 22
Willow gets an unwelcome surprise. Trina sticks to her guns. “Nathan” wants reassurance. Ethan advises Ava. Brook Lynn receives an update.
TUESDAY, JUNE 23
Dante cautions Liz. Laura learns a secret. Brook Lynn confides in Michael. Sonny challenges Ava. Chase makes a decision.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
Anna meets with her doctor. Carly makes a stunning confession. Britt extracts a promise. Cullum pulls a fast one. Gio and Emma hit the pool.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25
Josslyn clashes with Cassius. Lulu and Dante make a discovery. Chase receives a warning. Jordan seeks help. Alexis is summoned to the PCPD.
FRIDAY, JUNE 26
Anna takes a huge risk. Britt is in grave danger. Willow is in disbelief. Danny must act fast. Curtis jumps to the wrong conclusion.
Check out the latest General Hospital promo entitled, “Rescue Mission” below.
Now weigh-in: Do you think Anna is still mentally off-balance, or OK, and just pretending to be troubled to get out of France and get back to Port Charles? Will Josslyn finally be rescued, or will Carly and Lucas find themselves locked up with her? And, who will get to Britt and Rocco first? Cullum, or Dante and Lulu? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section below.
General Hospital
Maurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric

With the highly-anticipated returns of Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) on this week’s June 24 episode of General Hospital, Steve Burton’s (Jason Morgan) upcoming return on July 13, which also serves as the ABC daytime drama’s 16,000 episode, things are about to fire on all cylinders in the story, as noted today by series star, Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos).
On Father’s Day, the three-time Daytime Emmy-winning actor and mental health activist took to his Instagram and expressed in a video that he has some unbelievable upcoming senes with the aforementioned Burton and Hughes. Add to that Nazneen Contractor (Justine Turner) and Rick Hearst (Ric Lansing), where Benard gave credit where credit is due to the GH writing team, which is led by co-head writers, Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten..
In this video, Benard said, “I just want to get on here and say that I did some work with Steve Burton, Finola Hughes, Rick Hearst, Nazneen Contractor, and they’re all just fantastic. Truly fantastic. But, I want to say the writing was just exceptional. It truly was. It was exceptional. So, thankful for that kind of writing. I know writers don’t get the credit a lot, but I just want to say to the General Hospital writing team, keep rolling!”
GENERAL HOSPITAL PREVIEW
So now the question becomes, with a major tease like that, what is about to go down between Sonny, Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric? Will we finally get to the end of the line for Sidwell (Carlo Rota), as previously teased by the GH co-head writers? Will we learn what happened to Jason and Anna, fully? Will Justine and Sonny becomes closer or stop their liaisons? And what of Ric? Will he be true blue to his brother or double-cross him? There is a lot at stake as we move further into the summer and one that looks like it could be one of the more exciting ones in years!
FINOLA HUGHES CONFIRMED AMAZING SCENES WITH MAURICE BENARD
As a punctuation point to his video, Benard also shared this written message in the post: “I just did some wonderful scenes with Steve Burton, Rick Hearst, Finola Hughes and Nazneen Contractor and and unbelievable writing, freaking amazing scenes that you will see in the near future on General Hospital.” In fact, Finola Hughes jumped in the post comment thread and responded, “I loved our scenes so much xxx”
Fans will most likely see all the scenes Benard referred to later in July, since GH tapes approximately six weeks ahead of air.
So, are you excited to see what Maurice is talking about? Are you hyped for what’s to come on GH? Any clue on what you think will go down between the main characters on the soap with the returns of Anna Devane and Jason Morgan to the mix? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
View this post on Instagram
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Announces Upcoming Release of His First Single, ‘If You Need Me’

In a surprise move, Daytime Emmy winner, Chad Duell (ex-Michael Corinthos, GH) is getting ready to unveil a new chapter of his career in music.
The former GH star, where he played the son of Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) for 15 years, has announced his new single, “If You Need Me” will drop on Friday, June 26. The single is now available for pre-order on Spotify and major music streaming platforms and is distributed by DistroKid.
Taking to his Instagram story over the weekend, to announce the pre-save of his new single, Chad expressed, “I’ll make a full post about what I’ve been up to and my music once it goes live next week, but you can pre-save my first single so it goes straight to your Spotify once it drops next week.”

Photo: CDuellIG
SINCE LEAVING GENERAL HOSPITAL
Previously, since his departure from the ABC soap opera. Chad starred alongside Zach Mendez in the world premiere of of Yum Yum at Annapolis, a new play written by Bruce Reisman. Duell last appeared on General Hospital on the January 21, 2025 episode.
The part was recast with Rory Gibson who debuted as the new Michael in May of 2025 during the Nurses’ Ball episodes and who has remained in the role since that time.
In an interview earlier this year on The Able Show, Duell said on his decision to exit the soap opera, “I was blessed to be part of that (show) for as long as I have, but what happens sometimes is if you’re doing the same thing, especially in a creative field for such a long time, you can get a little burnt out in a way. It can make you a little depressed, so that’s kind of what happened. On top of that, I had other things going on in my life at the time. My father passed away recently and I just needed a reset. So, I stepped away. A lot of times you have to go through some stuff to really step into that next level. I needed to kind of feel uncomfortable.”
So, what type of musical genre will Chad’s new song be? Country? Pop? Rock? Dance/Club? Something else? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below, and if you are eager to hear the new single next week via the comment section below.
-

General Hospital2 days agoMaurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric
-

General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’s’ Controversial Luke and Laura Rape Episode: Writer Sheri Anderson Reveals Behind the Scenes Decisions and Admits ‘I Was Wrong’ to Defend It (Exclusive)
-

Days Of Our Lives1 week ago‘Days of Our Lives’ Eric Martsolf Recalls Moment He Learned He Was Cast as Brady Black, and Last Scenes with Drake Hogestyn (SOAPY Exclusive Preview)
-

General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Weighs-In on Dante and Elizabeth Pairing and Sharing Scenes with Rebecca Herbst (Exclusive)
-

General Hospital1 week agoGENERAL HOSPITAL Promo: Rocco’s in a Panic as Britt’s Health Takes a Turn, Chase is Called to the Carpet
-

Days Of Our Lives2 days agoAl Calderon Reflects on ‘Major Chapters’ Coming to an End on ‘Days of Our Lives’ and ‘Brilliant Minds’
-

Beyond the Gates5 days ago‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Karla Mosley Weighs-in on Dani Dupree’s Love Life Endgame: Are You Team Bill or Team Andre?
-

General Hospital1 week agoGENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Michael Puts Willow On Notice After Tracy Is Arrested













