General Hospital
Rebecca Budig Clarifies Status With General Hospital
The name Hayden Barnes has been brought back up over the last several months on General Hospital, leading many to believe that the character may be on her way back on to the canvas, and in turn, that would bring back fan favorite, Rebecca Budig to the role.
Rebecca spoke to Soap Opera Digest for their upcoming issue out this Friday, about a possible return in the near future. However, she intimated that it does not look, for now, that she will be back.
In addition, she clarified that she did not turn down an offer to come back to ABC daytime drama series, either.
Budig expressed: “Listen, I love (executive producer) Frank (Valentini), and Frank and I are friends, but I haven’t been asked back since I left the show (in 2019).”
So, would you like to see Rebecca back on GH, sooner than later? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
Please bring her back!
Why bring Hayden back when it might interfere with the Corinthos Crime Hour? Seriously, it’s time to bring her back, even in a different role. She could have Peter’s screen time…and salary. Or Esme. Or Drew. Or Michael. Or Sam and Dante. Or half of Carly’s time. I can dream, can’t I?
Soaphound,
It’s more like a nightmare. I think I’d tell Rebecca, if they don’t intend on asking her back, then quit using her name.
@Violet – While I’d like her back, she has zero say in what TPTB do with the Hayden name/character…
I don’t want to see her and Elizabeth conflicted over Finn… and further.. it sort of make me uncomfortable with these two pairing up anyway, with Elizabeth becoming an “aunt-mom” being with Finn. Finn will aleays br better paired with Anna…but i likw Anna and Valentine, and Elizabeth with Drew
Their bringing back a different actress in her place so what your thinking is irrelevant.
How so ? Elizabeth and Hayden are half sisters regardless whomever plays the role of Hayden. So Eliazbeth raising Voliet would make her an “Aunt-mom” to Voliet if paired with Finn.
Kitty… do watch General Hospital?
Kitty, it’s they’re, not their, and you’re, not your. And how is what Brian said irrelevant? It’s his opinion. Geez. Moving on—Brian, I really love Anna with Valentin and I think Finn has the most chemistry with Hayden. I just think Anna and Finn are delightful together as dear friends, not lovers.
Cheers to Anna & Finn, and to you Harry.
Brian, cheers to you and Harry, you both Crack me up!
Probably just as well that they don’t bring her back, because you know the first thing they would do is force her into a pairing with NuDrew. AMC never aired a single episode in Hell, but even I know those two were a “thing” on that show.
Not that it’s a guaranteed fit when you revisit pairings on a different show. Remember when Maxie had the very short lived relationship with Patrick’s little brother (can’t even remember what they called him)?? Didn’t work out so well, despite their history as the “iconic” legacy teen supercouple from Days (and they remain the definitive version of those characters)
On the other horn you had Stefan Cassadine & Katherine Bell…. who were just Steve & Kayla without the eye patch. That was the rare case where it actually worked… and they didn’t even really change the names by much.
Of course this DOES leave the hanging question of who the screaming woman was in one of the cells in the Cassadine basement prison. If it wasn’t Hayden, then it must have been Holly…. but there’s nothing indicating she’s about to return either.
Who else could it be? Psycho Nelle? What would Victor Cassadine want with her??
Haven’t you heard their bringing back an actress to replace her who used to be in a different role.
No I haven’t heard anything about that. Who are you talking about, and what’s your source for the info?
Not that I would be entirely surprised, given all the insane casting moves in the last few weeks. Firing Jason, aging all the kids with new kids that look nothing like them, and replacing one kid who could act with…. well, I’ll just leave it there…..
The RUMOR is that Marie Wilson (ex-Karen Wexler #2) is coming in to play Hayden, but that’s NOT from a reputable source.
I certainly hope that’s not the case. I only liked the original Karen Wexler. And as for Marie Wilson’s last role on Days…. don’t even get a Devil started on that abortion of a storyline.
What would anyone want with her? Nelle that is.
Well, I’d hire her to be a succubus here in Hell. The fact that she’s NOT doing that at the moment is proof that she’s not actually dead.
Bring her back. The writers and producers don’t have a clue with what they are doing and couldn’t care less what the fans want.
I really like her as an actress. I think she needs to come back, that’s the only thing that makes sense
I truly look forward to seeing her back as I have followed her for years since I saw her as Greenlee. I love her acting but wh at is so frustrating with her is that she doesn’t stay very long on any soap. Her coming and going each time raises how dedicated is she in her career? .
Sandy
I think she must have been pretty dedicated on GL. She played Michelle quite a while.
I liked Hayden’s character. She was interesting with Nicholas, but I wasn’t fond of her with Finn. (I liked him with Anna). Maybe she’d have chemistry with the new Nicholas? I don’t see her with the new Drew. Of course she doesn’t have to be with a guy to be interesting, as long as they conger up a compelling story for her. She’s good at demonstrating strength & tenacity, with a convincing softer side. Sure, bring her back if there’s a good storyline
Bring her back and the spin could be all victor’s doing.
I would like to see her back, but I equally feel like they need to wrap up the stories they have going before thy tie up the Hayden story and set her onto another story. Hayden is Violet’s mom, but now Liz is heading toward Finn. Liz being Hayden’s half-sister, how will that play out? Plus, weren’t they also hinting at Jeff Weber returning? There’s a lot out there right now: Marshall just arrived, Phyllis has yet to find her estranged relative in PC, we’re waiting for someone to (please) kill Peter, Victor has it in for Laura for some reason, Cain just came back, Jason hasn’t been found, the whole canvas has so many stories playing out. I’d rather wait for some of these stories to conclude before another one is introduced or expanded.
Rebecca is the greatest asset to GH. Her portrayal of Hayden has been endearing and at times mysterious. She’s a great soap actress and doesn’t need to be replaced with Marie! Give us a break. Why does Frank keep replacing our favorite actors? It doesn’t make sense!!
why is the show prolonging her return? nudrew is back, everyone knows the actors have a history, i’m not saying pair them together but gees at least have them interact and give the old AMC fans a bone to chew on, actress Rebecca Budig just like Rebecca Herbts have chemistry w/ anyone they interact with, I would love to see them have a storyline together so much going on here, theres their father story to play out, hayden coming back as liz and finn get closer, hayden mother just got killed, by who? Victor Cassadine? Nikolas ? Shawn is in the mix. So much going on here, come on GH bring her back.
I don’t think GH knows what they’re doing half the time anymore. Between propping Whiny Heiny (and propping the equally useless Frodd for several years before that)… throwing Jason under the bus for the second time in less than a decade, recasting every child in the cast at the same time, and the programming this week…. Xmas on the 22nd, after Xmas on the 23rd and a completely irrelevant rerun on the 24th, and also the dropped storylines with Jeff Webber (is he coming back or not??) and the identity of the screaming woman in the cell next to Drew on Cassadine Island…. things seem to be a bit chaotic at the moment. Hell only knows when they’ll get back on track.
Yeah, Satan, that was really weird, even for GH. Who reruns a tepid Valentine’s Day episode, from 2021 at that, as a Christmas show? There must be so many vintage episodes to run instead –just pick one out of a hat. And my 87 year-old mom can’t tell the new Rocco from the new Danny (who I thought had to be Jake). Not a good move on the recasts, either.
I think they painted themselves into a corner with a Jake recast. Their first error there was when they super SORASed Josslyn from the “corn girl” to the teenager. Of course at that time everybody believed Jake was dead, so it wasn’t an issue. But when they brought him back, initially as the same kid who allegedly got ran over by his own grandpa (Luke) in front of Liz’s house, we were reminded that 4 year old Jake supposedly gave a kidney to Joss who was about 18 months old at the time.
But if you SORASed Jake to be 4 years older than Joss now, he would also be 4 years older than his brother Cameron, and obviously that won’t work. But now they have aged Danny & Rocco, and Jake would obviously be several years older than them.
They’ll probably aim for the middle and put him at somewhere around 15 or 16, but that’s not really accurate in comparison to the age difference between Jake and either of his half-brothers, especially Danny who should be just short of 10 years old.
O,K you are making me nuts!I thought Olivia and Robert heard a screaming woman, supposedly Holly in that casino they went to a while back ?
Yeah that was definitely Holly. That’s when we saw the brief 10 second scene of Holly being held prisoner somewhere. The scene was filmed on a cell phone, obviously due to Emma Samms COVID status at the time, but it was enough to establish that she was, in fact, being held prisoner, and not dead, although they had just attended her “funeral”.
By the time Maxi gets her kid back, she’ll be in nursery school.
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.
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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.
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