General Hospital
Robin Riker Joins The Cast Of GH As Rebecca Budig's On-Screen Mom!
Photo: RobinRiker.com
Robin Riker, who played Beth Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful, will be returning to the world of daytime drama in her new role on ABC’s General Hospital!
According to Soap Opera Digest, Riker has been hired to play the on-screen mother of Rebecca Budig’s Hayden AKA Rachel.
In her new role as the talked about Naomi Dreyfus, look for the disgraced mom to cause trouble for Budig’s on-screen alter ego and more.
Riker has appeared in numerous films, and primetime series as well as the stage. Look for her first appearance on GH come June 3rd.
What do you think about the casting of Riker as Budig’s on-screen mom? How will Naomi figure into the storyline equation? Share your thoughts below!
Not excited about any more new characters being brought to the canvas. I would like to see GH write more stories and provide more airtime for the cast they already have.
I echo your sentiments, Marie.
i’m disgusted with this cat and mouse game… the blame game… the blackmail… the lust isn’t even interesting any more…
I mean really.. what’s the point… now that Nicholas doesn’t really have a story outside of this love hate relationship… since ELQ is not his to fight for.
I do wonder… about those diamonds… is Rebecca really hiding… all the moneys her family “stole” and Nicholas gets in deeper …. this isn’t right
Nicholas stole the show last year… these writers have totally lost his character.
unless Rebecca does have … sigh… MORE secrets and till GH gives Laura STORY with power
argh! how frustrating
it’s all about the Sonny and Carly and Jason and Sam show… how uneventful
I miss all the other characters
I forgot… Nicholas may have planted those diamonds so he can have equal footing on the blackmail
still dull
Rachel … who is a character without “connection” till now… was so close to making it on her own… because… like Liz and Jake… showed lots of promise… and love and romance was in the air
now it stinks
I agree with all of you. This issilly
And someone PLEASE tell me what was that get-up Nickolas was dressed in today (Fri.)? Egads!
I totally agree! The cast is so bloated that you can barely follow s/l as it is.
Me too!
Agree! It’s like they are stuck in the same story lines so they add more characters.
With all due respect, Hayden is not so new anymore and if you want to tell her story, its essential to cast her family. Whether you like Hayden or not she is signed and fully committed so you might as well write her and make he more than ONE dimensional.
Exactly–looks like GH going the route of the newly-cancelled Nashville–a sprawling list of characters that no one care anything about. 🙁
Donald Trump…will you please build a wall around PC-too many newbies getting in!!!
Lol and of all the actresses those two hacks could write for why her…
have to gavel @Harry
you are a welcomed clever post… humor is so needed
I just can’t imagine that the behind the scenes production… have to know… right… that fan outcry do not want… GH to be the
Sonny and Carly w/ Jason and Sam show
who’s gonna pay for it? lol
The Quartimaines, Corinthos and Jeromes…most of the people in PC…they all seem to be doing well!!!-lol
TPTB have lost their collective minds. GH’s cast is already bloated with storylines coming & going and characters missing for days & weeks.
We don’t need anymore cast and we certainly don’t need family brought in for a failed newbie character like Hayden.
Hayden’s on her third backstory & we still don’t care.GH needs to cut so many newbie characters & concentrate on characters we know, love and are invested in.
Lucas & Brad are getting married & their entire relationship has happened off camera. How do they expect us to invest when TPTB don’t invest themselves?
Why hire Nurse Amy when viewers would rather see nurses we’re already invested in? Give Elizabeth, Epiphany,Felix the airtime not newbie Amy.
Laura’s promised story is always backburnered. Genie Friggin’ Francis! Instead Hayden gets a family, another backstory and airtime.
TPTB are trying to drive viewers away.
Amen to no new nurses!! Ephiphany and Felix YAY!
Epiphany was so funny during Sonny rehab
get this… I actually liked Sonny…. “he can” show human emotion… not that he was full of words… but it lent Maurice Benard , himself… a chance to act
this end all or be all… for his kids… is tiresome… plus the cutesy cutesy way … Carly and Sonny are threshholding themselves… drinking champagne and heralding themselves king and queen of port Charles
I think not
I have to agree. Soaps want more viewers yet it is difficult to invest with so many characters and stop-start storylines. I like following closely, seeing favorites day to day, not here and there.
These two Actors Tyler and Rebecca deserve better writing then this.I agree for the most half.
You said it! And well!
She’ll be a good addition to the cast. My reservation is that they are expanding the family of a poorly written and ill-defined character, Rachel / Hayden / whoever / whatever. Maybe this will ground the character and not just muddy the already murky waters.
I totally agree with all the above posters. There is not enough depth to the current s/l’s and way too many in the current cast. The revolving door approach is definitely not working for me — what a disappointment to see yet another newbie.
Totally agree….cast WAY TOO LARGE! Characters disappear for too long, stories, lag, or occur off screen or are dropped all together. TPTB seem to have favorites and could care less about fans. Current characters & couples who are proven popular are cast aside, or decimated in order to prop the favorites. History and story lines being rewritten to fit someone’s selfish agenda. Bye GH, I’m out!
Unless her mother has some secret past with someone already on canvas whose character is deeply connected to the history of the show, why bother. Creating characters just to create story line instead of creating story lines for character already there has always been problematic for any soap. Viewers aren’t interested in new characters unless they are anchored to main characters– If JK Rowling created new main characters for every Harry Potter book no one would have read the series, they kept reading the books because there were following a certain set of characters. Sure new characters might have been introduced in each new book, but the books were never about the new characters. Soap writers need to heed that lesson. If you can’t figure out stories for characters you got, maybe you need to find yourself a new career other than soap writer.
Mary SF…Good points!
Mary, love the Harry Potter comparison!
I agree with everyone. I’m sure she’s a nice lady but GH doesn’t need any more new people. It’s already ridiculous. I could care less about Hayden so I sure don’t care about her parents.
Or Ponzi schemes.
This Nancy agrees. I could care less about Hayden or Rachel or whoever–her character started out one way (pretending to be Jason’s husband) then, when they signed her for a 2 or 3 or 4 (!) year contract, they changed the story; now they’ve changed it again. Don’t care! And the idea that she and Nikolas are going to make each other’s life “hell,” to use Nikolas’s words–who wants to see THAT? What a dismal concept–and how can that be entertaining in any way?
These are the same writers who gave AMC’s Greenlee an entire family while making the stories on AMC orbit around her sun. While Rebecca Budig is a perfectly decent actress, I have never understood the fascination with her. She’s just okay and borderline boring.
It’s hard to get excited about an entire family moving into Port Charles when characters we really care about are largely ignored. Two weeks ago we got to see Laura have lunch with Kevin and she has not been seen since.
The cast is over saturated as it is. Moreover, from reading the story summary above, it looks like Hayden’s family dynamics will replicate Greenlee’s family dynamics. I am sure Hayden’s Bernie Maddoff-like father will be trotting in soon and probably a brother or sister or two.
Slow down with the rapid introduction of new characters, GH.
Rebecca Buddig’s Greenlee never worked for me as a heroine. The only time I enjoyed the character was when she tormented Bianca after she saw her at The Blue Note and threatened to expose her as a lesbian.
Ron Carlivati’s vision for Hayden as the fun bad girl has been undone by Jean and Shelly’s desire to make the character a sympathetic victim. Big mistake. GH — like every other soap these days — is hellbent on declawing their strong female characters and making them dreary milquetoasts who are defined by their men.
Alan…it’s also hard in real life to find strong females that someone isn’t trying to “declaw.”
Alan, good point, why would two female writers remove Hayden’s claws?
BUT you may get less Sonny!
Yes, Harry!
And, like you, I wonder where is Laura’s story? Poor Genie! She can act circles around all of the new-cast members.
It’s surprising to me when I read the comments that are on here before mine and I agree with 99, if not 100% of them. So what’s left to say, but DITTO.
Most likely she Sonny’s sister;Hayden/Rachel’s uncle….WHO CARES….
Welcome! Looking forward to the story unfold
And yet…and yet…After almost twenty years on canvas, we STILL do not even know the name of Liz’s mother. If ever a character needed family, it is Elizabeth Webber, not this dud Rachel whatever.
But nothing is more important than building up a pet character who, to date, is a major fail!
a 4 year contract…. WOW
Frank Valentini… is far more caustic than Ron Carlivati
that’s becoming so obvious now… the behind the scenes drama that rallied with Valentini and dissed RC
Here, here, Tristan! The Hardy/Webber family has been underrepresented for so long now, it’s not even laughable anymore. Instead, we just see more and more epic fail characters and their families invading Port Charles. Get a clue, GH people…we don’t want Nina, Hayden, Sabs, nor most of their recent fellow newbies who cannot hold a candle to the seasoned vets of Port Charles. Only when there is a truly compelling reason to introduce a character to the canvas should it happen….case in point: Griffin Munro. He has a perfectly logical rhyme and reason for being there, and perhaps the same shall be said for Finn in the near future…..I certainly hope so. But beyond these two fine actors, I cannot see the rationale for any of the others who have been added to the already enormous cast.
Tristan, I actually like Hayden BUT you make a great point, why doesnt any of Liz’s family resurface? We actually know these people and care about them.
So Elizabeth Has been on the show how many years? We know nothing about her Mom. I could give a flying you know what about the character of Hayden! Just keep digging your grave!
Thanks heavens!
If there’s one thing this show was missing it was the heavily anticipated character of Naomi Dreyfuss, mother of Rachel Berlin and wife of Raymond Berlin, master of the off-camera Ponzi scheme. The only way this could get any better is if Naomi is French-Canadian and has a niece named Claudette with a hankerin’ for a green card.
*sigh*
At least no one here is being stupid and getting angry at the actress…just the charater she will play…
As much as I dislike “GH” right now, I do like this news. Hayden is one of the few rays of light on the show, so having her mom around will mean more airtime. I’m cool with that.
I am VERY happy. I love it when networks hire ex-soap stars. She looks like Hayden and can act. This is great. I wanted Hayden’s family to come on board! Next up, Don Johnson as Raymond Berlin!
If they do cast her father, i would like it to be David Selby!!!
Sad to say, I’ve never really bought into the character. I guess I still see her are Greenlee from AMC. If her Mother is there to escort her off the show..then maybe that’s a good thing.
I’m still waiting for ABC to win the Prospect Park battle and get the characters from OLTL and AMC back. I think once that happens…ABC daytime viewers will be in for something special. Here’s to my dreaming. lol. Thanks for the opportunity to post… btw, Rebecca Budding is great…just not as this character.
RB was hired just like any other actress on GH and she does what any actress of her caliber does she takes the material she’s given and brings a character to life. She doesn’t complain or question why the writers do what they do she just does her job and her part as a member of an acting ensemble…..GH should NOT and CANNOT be all about just a few characters and if it were all of them would burn out FROM EXHAUSTION!! Soo, For Gosh Sakes people stop whining about Hayden or any other characters and enjoy watching GH or we might not have it on our screens much longer……I enjoy the balance of seeing most of he cast regularly but unfortunately the last two to three weeks have been GH’s version of The Godfather and all things Mob. I’ve been seeing the rumor mill suggesting Liz and Hayden might be siblings……Hmmmm, the actress who is to play Hayden’s Mom favors both Hayden and Liz so maybe the rumor is true and we’ll get some kind of story to explain the sister-thing…..I actually like the idea and would love to see more of Hayden and Curtis!!!
You MUST be kidding! As Harry says above, these are the same writers who wrote for her on AMC–and, when they came to GH, they gave her the contract–plus the sun and the moon!–WE DON’T CARE. “Takes the material she’s given and brings a character to life.” Question: Just how many “characters” can she be? I DON”T CARE.
Liz’s parents are Doctors without Borders. Not investment Fraud’s without lawyers.
I love everything GH is doing lately. I like the story between Hayden and Nick. It reminds me of the “Taming of the Shrew” play with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. I like the variety of stories on and do not need them to give vets anymore time than newcomers. I have been watching since April1, 1963. My memory and attention span are better than the newer viewers who whine if a story is not shown for a week. I will not tell you my age but if I was watching in 1963, I am not 20something.
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.
‘WWE: Unreal’ Season 3 Premiere Date, Cast of Superstars, Announced by Netflix
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom
Deidre Hall Marks 50 Years as ‘Days of Our Lives’ Dr. Marlena Evans
Maurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric
Al Calderon Reflects on ‘Major Chapters’ Coming to an End on ‘Days of Our Lives’ and ‘Brilliant Minds’
Maurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric
‘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 Lives’ Eric Martsolf Recalls Moment He Learned He Was Cast as Brady Black, and Last Scenes with Drake Hogestyn (SOAPY Exclusive Preview)
‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Weighs-In on Dante and Elizabeth Pairing and Sharing Scenes with Rebecca Herbst (Exclusive)
GENERAL HOSPITAL Promo: Rocco’s in a Panic as Britt’s Health Takes a Turn, Chase is Called to the Carpet
‘WWE: Unreal’ Season 3 Premiere Date, Cast of Superstars, Announced by Netflix
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom
Deidre Hall Marks 50 Years as ‘Days of Our Lives’ Dr. Marlena Evans
Y&R Preview: Matt Clark Asks Phyllis on a Date, Would You Be Down for the Pairing? Roger Howarth & Michelle Previously in GH’s Franco/Nina Romance
‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Reflects on Dante’s Guilt for the ‘Atrocity’ That Happened to Michael Which Kept Everyone From Telling Him the Truth About Rocco (Exclusive)
-
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
