General Hospital
Megan Wards’s Surprise Appearance As GH’s Connie Falconeri!
Courtesy/ABC
For those who caught Wednesday’s episode of General Hospital centering around the character of Ava Jerome (Maura West), they were in a for a big surprise, when during Ava’s anesthesia nightmare none other than a bloodied dress Connie Falconeri AKA Kate Howard appeared in the art gallery scenes to confront the woman who shot and killed her.
However, it was the original Connie who took on the role for this special standalone episode, Megan Ward! The last actress to play the role was, of course, Kelly Sullivan from 2011-2014, with Ward playing her from 2007-2010.
Once yesterday’s episode aired, Megan took to her Twitter account to share her gratitude for the fun return: “I have @valentinifrank 2 thank 4 the best holiday present! Appreciated every moment of my trip down memory lane but especially grateful 4 the chance 2 work w/ @MauraWest. #gh“
So, what did you think of the surprise appearance by Megan Ward as Connie Falconeri from Bensonhurst? Comment below!
Would have rather seen Kelly as Connie. I was not watching when Megan played the role, but did enjoy the show none the less.
I thought she was the better Connie – at least more believable to me as that character. She is such a beautiful actress. I really wish they had kept her and sent her cousin’s character (Olivia) back to Bensonhurst.
I like Megan Ward, but I honestly would have loved and preferred to have seen Kelly Sullivan in the role again. It’d allow for more complex flashbacks and use of history between actresses. Megan seemed disconnected to the story.
I only know Kelly S in the role but i guess the original is better than nothing!!!
I’m very surprised. Until reading this I had no idea it was her!
more surprise to see Morgan!
Didn’t remember the first Connie
The whole episode was great. I knew Maura would be able to pull off a stand-alone episode. Seeing the characters from the past was awesome!!!
Wasn’t watching when Megan played Kate. Love Kelly Sullivan so would have preferred to see her instead.
Kelly S would’ve been sensational. Megan’s voice grated on my nerves.
It’s like they are two separate characters. Megan was a good Kate Howard, a sophisticated fashion editor. Kelly fit the bill as crazy Connie Falconeri. Never really bought that she was a teenager the same time as Sonny due to the obvious age difference.
Wednesday was the first time Megan played the integrated Connie, which was not her strongpoint. Nice to see her nevertheless.
Exactly, Steve! Megan’s high and haughty, polished New Yorker,“Kate,” was perfectly executed, even though I could never understand how a deeply-disciplined woman of taste who so laboriously clawed her way to the top of the brutally-competitive fashion press heap would deign to publicly cavort with the despicablely coarse Sonny—-past or no past with “Dimples.” It’s something I simply couldn’t ever reconcile about Ward’s cool sophisticate and that particular romantic facet of her existence. However, the more overtly sexy, spontaneous Kelly Sullivan and all of her crazy “Connie’s” assorted mental issues gelled magnificently with her recasting as Sonny’s Bensonhurst ex-squeeze, since the backstory attached to the long-buried Falconeri aspect of this character worked in a manner that I would not have imagined had the original actress remained in that role. Hence even though I consider both actresses successful in their given portrayals as Kate/Connie, I have to say that the notion of Ward as the integrated Connie really doesn’t seem at all plausible to me.
I was not watching when this actress played Connie, but grateful for the surprise. Wish Morgan’s return had been a surprise. Too much information is revealed before the shows air. Takes away the suspense. May be why some people stop watching. What’s the point when you know what’s happening before it happens?
I thought she looked familiar but didn’t recognize her. Loved Megan’s Kate. What a great treat to have her return for this episode.
Love seeing Megan back, she my Kate & Connie
I didn’t watch GH during the Megan Ward/Connie era, so to me I just figured the original actress (Sullivan) was not available and they got a fill-in actress. I had no idea it was the original Connie until I read this article. This entire episode didn’t do much for me.
The episode was good. I don’t care who played Connie, never did. Loved the Bad Ava. yea she is so much more evil than Sonny. Give me a break. I do like her with the ex priest. They have chemistry. I want Ava to deck Carly. She has no right to Avas kid. All her and Sonny are good for is to take children from their parents. Who’s next ?Jake.. Today was a little better. Not all the mob.
I loved seeing Megan in this role again! she’s such a talented actress and made Kate Howard what she was!
Megan Ward and Maurice had the better chemistry. Maurice and Kelly didn’t have any chemistry together. I liked Megan’s Kate Howard better. I hated that they gave Kate D.I.D.
That was just another way to integrate OLTL into GH…
I loved it….to me MW played Kate Howard the Miranda of crimson. KS played Connie ( I know y’all understand lol) the woman Ava murdered. I loved Megan as Kate but I looooooooved Kelly as Connie it was a awesome little nod to the fans either way
Yassssssssss THIS IS THE SURPRISE THAT GOT ME UP!
Kelly Sullivan’s portrayal will always be respected. The water she was handed, she made hella lemons out of that portrayal and MORE! Kudos!!!!!
But to see the original, Megan Ward play with Maura West was the ultimate treat to an all Ava episode.
GH RIGHT THAT WRONG NOW AND BRING MEGAN BACK AS KATE NOWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wouldn’t want the character of Kate to return; she was destroyed to shreds. The DID storyline could’ve been played beautifully, but, instead, it was mishandled. Plus, Kelly Sullivan deserves a rightful return to the role if they did bring her back. But, I don’t see Kate being brought back.
Kelly deserves it and yes the story towards the end turned into something that was half baked, but Megan wasn’t given a chance either. They bumped her to recurring to dismissal in a matter of seconds.
The, to reintroduce the character with another actress while the character had familiarity and popularity with Megan was kind of slap to the viewers face.
Did it reboot Kate, yes, but it also killed a future legacy character that had roots within the canvas.
In no offense, but the character of Kate has fizzled by the time Megan Ward was dropped to recurring, so I understood the decision. And then writing her out also made sense; there wasn’t much story beyond Crimson at that point. When the character returned, it was meant as a reboot to bring more depth and understanding to how Connie Falconeri became Kate Howard, and I do believe Kelly Sullivan was the only character to handle that transition.
My issue with the DID storyline was the way it was written; it became this mockery of DID, and it was mishandled completely. And the character became a broken shell of itself, and that’s what bothered me. It was the writing, not the portrayal that failed the character.
They need to find a way to bring Megan back as Kate Howard permanently she played the role passionately and her vs Carly was always worth watching
Megan Ward created the character of Kate that was before they decided to recast and do the dual personality because KS version was the one that got shot they should have brought her back to me it must have been confusing for viewers.
I love Megan Ward and wish they would have kept her and the role of Kate Howard more than “Connie”
Since GH is quite adept at bringing characters back from the dead…
How about bringing Kate Howard back from the dead?
I loved Megan Ward she was the best!!
Maybe she took the opportunity to fake her own death because she never liked being Connie Falconari, and wanted to return to a more Kate Howard like persona?
i was so disappointed when megan ward left the role so i for one was thrilled to see her again on gh and this is not any type of disrespect to kelly s……………….
I love both Megan and Kelly. Megan was a shocker and was great! I wish they would have her bring back Morgan too Sonny ad explain that the whole charade was Olivia Jerome, working for Faison. Connie in, Carly out!
Megan had no business being falsely connected to Ava’s story..
She was not involved with anything Ava Kelly Sullivan was Kate/Connie at that time..
Kelly needed to return, that Megan should have never been brought in..
I had no idea who in heck Megan was nor why she was in Ava’s dream, she did not belong.
No Kelly Sullivan for sure! Ava deserved this episode but the story points were a little weak. The Morgan return was good. I love Bryan Craig. I just think that they could have done a better job with it. But I’m grateful because Maura West can light up my screen any day of the week.
I always liked Kelly Sullivan in the role. I thought she did an outstanding (and comical) job with the CONKATE storyline. It was nice to see Megan Ward back.
I did not realize it was the actress who originated the role of Connie Falconeri playing her in this episode but I honestly thought she was terrible. It made me miss Kelly Sullivan even more.
I was very disappointed that they didn’t bring back Kelly Sullivan to play the role of Connie Falconeri on the stand alone episode with Ava Jerome. It was Kelly who got shot by Ava, not Megan Ward. Why bring back to real Morgan, and not the real Connie? Kelly Sullivan’s other show after leaving her role of Sage on the Y&R in 2016, Too Close To Home was cancelled recently, so I really can’t understand why she wasn’t on the Ava Jerome episode. She only appears on a very few episodes of Henry Danger as Henry Hart’s mom Siren, so unless she’s very busy working on some other projects, she should have been brought back as Connie Falconeri in that stand alone episode recently.
The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.
Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”
Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ava’s (Maura West) daughter Avery looks quite different, starting on today’s November 9 episode of General Hospital. That’s because GH has made Avery into a full-blown teenager and the role is now being played by actress Alya Bullington.
In her debut, the Tennessee native was thrown into the deep soap waters with Daytime Emmy winners, Maurice Benard and Eden McCoy (Josslyn). Bullington weighed-in to TV Insider about her first scene which featured Avery overhearing a fight between Sonny and Josslyn.
She explained “It was something I have never done before, I did not have a lot of experience with the screaming and the crying stuff, but I got my first script, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a huge opportunity to learn so much about how that stuff works and to become this character that I have never even tried playing before.’”
Photo: ABC
THE TEENAGED VERSION OF AVERY WILL HAVE A LOT TO CONTEND WITH
Speaking of working with McCoy, Bullington shared, “She’s incredible. I remember her just laughing and making jokes on set, and then the minute that they started taping, she just locked in and she cried immediately, and my first thought was, ‘I want to be able to do that.’
The soap opera newcomer added, “I think she just inspired me so much because she is so great and she can just lock into whatever character she wants to in the moment.”
The character of Avery was born back in 2014, but as recently as the October 8 episode of General Hospital, the character was suddenly referred to as a teenager. This is the second young female character in recent months to be aged up following the casting of Kayden Brenna Tokarski as Scout Cain.
As for her take on Avery and what’s ahead, Alya said,“She’s emotional, and she’s curious, and she’s a really fun person to play because so much stuff is happening in her life. I think she’s kind of confused about what’s happening and what to believe.”
So, what do you think about General Hospital making Avery a teenager? Are you excited to see the conflict between Sonny, Ava and Avery now that they have aged up the character? Share your thoughts and welcome Alya to GH via the comment section below.
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