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Ilene Kristen Set For A Return To General Hospital!

By Michael Fairman

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Photo Credit:Sue Coflin/Max Photo

Photo Credit:Sue Coflin/Max Photo

Great news today from Frank Valentini, the EP of General Hospital courtesy of Soap Opera Digest!  Ilene Kristen, who reprised her role of Delia Ryan Coleridge from Ryan’s Hope on GH, is coming back to the show and it looks like she may even be in scenes with Delia’s  daughter, Ava Jerome (Maura West)!

As GH fans know, the former OLTL favorite, where she played Roxy Balsom, did a short stint that aired in October of 2013.  However, that appearance has proven to be an important part of the story that Frank Valentini and GH head writer, Ron Carlivati were laying out.

As to when Ilene will be back on the GH set, Valentini told SOD, ” She’s back very soon. Ilene did a fantastic job and Delia is an important character. I think her return will show viewers another side to Ava.”  Maura West added to that comment stating, “Ilene is fantastic and I look forward to having scenes with her. That mother/daughter relationship is one I would love to see fleshed out.”

So, are you excited to know that Ilene is coming back to General Hospital!  Who knows?  Maybe Delia could end being a  character that gets used alot on the canvas in Port Charles, because now she has ties to the Jerome Clan!  Let us know your thoughts on the news!

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Cue the posts about how Cartini is ruining a character from a show that hasn’t been on the air for 30 years now

LOL cuz they’re sure to come. And the funnier thing is they’ll be SERIOUS about it.

huh? 30 years lol no way..

Roxy Balsom/Ilene Kristen from November 7, 2001 to January 13, 2012/ One Life to Live…
Ilene Kristen was with OLTL for 11yrs to its’ last day ..

I was referring to Ryan’s Hope where she played Delia. Everyone complained that GH ruined Delia before so I was just saying I expected more of the same Ryan’s Hope has been off the air for almost 30 years

Ilene is not playing Roxy on GH. She is playing Delia Reid Ryan Coleridge (not sure I have those names in correct order). This character originated on Ryan’s Hope which ended January 13, 1989. So it was almost 25 years between the end of RH and the reappearance of Delia on GH. Personally, I don’t care who she’s playing- I’m always happy to watch Ilene’s wonderful work!

How is he ruining Dee…if the show was still on the air they still couldve done this plot anyway! Just asking?

So.. I am glad to see her coming back on GH! I miss her and like her as Delia or Roxy(favorite character)…..She is full of energy! And very bubbly personality…I always like her a lot..

Yes, glad to see her back…been a favorite since her Ryan’s Hope days…would like to here the Ryans Hope theme played in the background during one of her scenes!!!

maybe played as she makes a dramatic entrance!!!

Meanwhile, instead of Carly will it be Luke buried alive in the cemetary and Shirley Jones sees or hears something she tells Dante…also is that really Dr.O at the hospital or a twin…i cant see the police letting her go?

Hopefully she’ll be a regular. I loved her both on Ryan’s Hope and OLTL.

Me TOO!!!!!!

I am in seventh heaven at the news! to see Delia and Ava play out their complicated history will be a five star meal and a sinfully good dessert.

I’m really happy that Ilene is getting the work. She did superb work on RH back in the day, and her Roxie on OLTL was also a delight.

BUT I wish they had not brought her back as Delia. I’m afraid Ron C. will use the character inappropriately (as I think he already has), have her behave OOC for Delia, maybe even make her responsible for putting Silas’ wife in a coma.
She may have pushed a Ryan or two down a staircase or two, LOL, but I’d rather keep Delia as Delia in memory and reruns on YouTube than see that.

Can we please get Ron Hale back now?? As Roger Coleridge he and Delia had such great chemistry. Miss him as Mike. Even though he has “retired”, I’m sure he would consider coming back under the right circumstances. Really want to see him and Ilene work together again!!

Did Mike sr. die on screen? If the character did die off screen, he could return. He might have went into hiding because of his gambling debts and faked his death. I would not want to see him as another character on GH. Plus, he did retire from acting. He may not want to return.

Would love to see a cameo appearance by Ron Hale as Roger! Especially if he and Delia visit the diner and he gets a lot of confusing looks and greetings by people calling him Mike. Could be pretty priceless…..

Excited to see her scenes with Ava. Look forward to seeing her background fleshed out more, and can’t wait to see Maura rock the material.

Valentini is bringing back veteran soap actors as a ploy to lure viewers, knowing that there is not enough air time for the characters to be developed. Unfortunately, they are serving as temporary plot devices.

GH needs to commit to a stable core of four o five lead characters and develop them through romance and social conflict.

They tried that!! It was the Carly jason Sonny and Sam show four years. Thank god for Ron. He had created a balanced show. There is always room for improvment but its way better than what Guza gave us.

So excited love Ilene, Deliah, Ryans Hope. The history on General Hospital can’t miss TV. Welcome back Ilene!

I agree!!

I see nothing to indicate any great news , GH already has an array of newbies , in fact the canvas is overrun with newbies. Delia is NOT an important character to GH , she is just another newbie.And why do GH viewers need to see another side to Ava , all these writers need to do is to put Ava in a body bag , that should show a great side to newbie Ava.

It is Great NEWS to me! I love her characters as Delia or Roxy… She is a fresh breadth of sunshine!

I am thrilled that she is coming back and this time assuming she will actually be in Port Charles. I want to see her interact with Ava, Kiki and Silas and Sam again. Genius casting!!

Someone else designed to create more storylines for new characters while more and more GH characters get lost in the shuffle. I’m not happy to have her back.

I’m not impressed. I never watched Ryan’s hope or OLTL, or any other soaps. I’m a General Hospital fan .

Well I watched Ryan’s Hope for a while and OLTL for a very long time. And watched GH as well at that particular time…

And started watching GH again after OLTL was cancelled on abc..

Agree they saved a soap in that time slot at least that is what they told us but it is really not GH. Basically all I have noticed in months are employing actors from cancelled soaps and bringing on new characters with really no substance and shoved down our throat day in and day out. The veterans that were once on do not even act like themselves or they have made cartoons out of them. In the old days Duke was a savvy mobster now he just follows around like a lap dog. Heather what a joke.

God to have Ilene back..
It is awesome how FV & RC remember the oldies and gives them employment and the fans a great time seeing their favorites once again..
That is paying homage to the past/respecting those who made the soaps great in the days past and a treat for their fans .

Big fan of her work.

Big fan also!

Love her! Looking forward to seeing her again on GH!

Nice

Will be a kick to have Dee back on the scene, and Donna Mills should definitely up the much sorely needed glam quotient to Port Charles….it has been a really boring year thus far, with the exception of today’s jaw-dropping last moment! Soooo….could this possibly be our beloved Dr. O. as GH’s new chief-of-staff????? Or is it a seemingly more benevolent doppelganger…wink wink???? Most intriguing…that being said, be forewarned that all of these upcoming tasty tricks and treats being dropped into our goodybags will be coming at a huge cost…just read the news that Robin is going to be making a hasty exit here in the near future and loyal fans are going to “mighty miffed” (in KMc’s own words, only stronger….) at the storyline.. Sounds like “Cartini” are once again going to be pushing the “Puking Princess” on us……and all the Cassadines and Obrechts in the world won’t make that more tolerable!!!!

Yep, will miss Robin – watching for her to be reunited with Patrick….knew it was to good to be true. Not a fan of Sabrina either, but when Robin comes back maybe she’ll have another of Patrick’s children with her-lol!!

Nice if we have two Dr.Os…i once suggested a twin…if im remember right…or some other possibilties to keep her around…like to see her clash with Epiphany!!!

Hopefully on her next visit, Ron won’t bash us over the head with her and her dialogue by having her say something like “Hi Ava. It’s me….your mother Delia Reid Ryan Coleridge.”

Love it!! Can’t wait.

So happy to hear Ilene is coming back to GH. I loved her as Roxy but she will ALWAYS be Delia!

I thought Donna Mills or Joan Rivers would have been good to cast as Ava’s mother.

Joan Rivers? Why?

No Joan Rivers…

I like her. I loved her as Roxy on OLTL so it’ll take me a while to get used to her Delia character. I do see however where it would make sense to bring her on as the latter…Roxy has no ties in Port Charles. So, good for Ilene! Welcome “old friend”…whomever you are! 😉

It kinda makes sense that she is Ava’s mother because it explains why Kiki is so short when both her parents aren’t. lol

So happy to hear this and look forward to seeing her on GH again! Just love the surprises from Frank and Ron!

she reminds me a bit of Rose Kelly (Joe’s ex) that ran off into the sunset (was written off) with Jake Meyer (Bobbie’s ex) before Aunt Ruby took over the diner.

Love Ilene and think this is a great development! To those that are continually complaining – oy just relax already.

And for the poster that said that they should concentrate on ‘five or six’ characters… this show did that… and I, for one, hated the SonnyJasonCarly show that GH became for a decade.

I wish that we’d see more of the things we’re told about that happen off screen (like Patrick’s bachelor party… sounded like Elizabeth had a good time, wish I could have seen it; she deserves some fun!) but I like that the show is more of an ensemble than it’s been in years.

Sorry to hear about Robin leaving.. thought she was back for good…. 🙁

More new characters for GH. Just what we need.

you know, most of what we think of GH staples were at one time “new characters”. Soaps have to evolve and bring on new characters from time to time so the staples have different storylines. Some stay a little while, others become long time characters.

I am looking forward to seeing Ilene back on GH. I miss her as Roxy on OLTL as she was so funny and played the “goofy blond” role to perfection.

Love Ilene. Love Delia. I can’t wait and what a treat for long time ABC daytime viewers!

I like her. Bring her back. Kiki having a grandma around might be nice.

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

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?”

Dom and Liz

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.

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GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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Patrick J. Gibbons

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.

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‘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)

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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.”

Chad Duell

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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