General Hospital
Roger Howarth Confirms Departure from GH, Shares Appreciation for Daytime Fans: “I Am Deeply Grateful to Each Sparkly One of Them”
Many soap fans are heartbroken following the news that Roger Howarth is out at General Hospital after his Port Charles character of Dr. Austin-Gatlin Holt has been killed-off, marking the end of Howarth’s recent run on the ABC daytime drama series.
On Monday, Howarth confirmed his exit from General Hospital with a touching post on his official Instagram account.
Howarth taped his last episode of GH back in October, and after Monday’s airshow it was revealed that Austin met his maker. Taking to his Instagram, Roger shared several touching word to the fans, the cast and crew of General Hospital, and that he is looking forward to the future.

Photo: ABC
In his post, Roger expressed: “Still life with coffee and rabbit ears (referring to his photo).” He then went on to say, “Three things that I know for sure…”

Courtesy/RHowarthIG
Number one was, “Daytime fans are lovely and amazing and supportive and dedicated and I am deeply grateful to each sparkly one of them.” The second,”I enjoyed my time at General Hospital and wish the cast and crew the best and continued success. It was a pleasure working with you all.” And the third, “Life is amazing. We just don’t Ever know what’s gonna happen. How great!”
Roger ended his appreciation post with hope for the future, “Turn toward the light. Always. Huge thank you to you all.”

Photo: ABC
The actor has had an incredible daytime career appearing on Guiding Light, Loving, One Life to Live, As the World Turns and General Hospital as three different characters (Todd, Franco and Austin) from 2012-2023. Howarth has been nominated five-times for a Daytime Emmy and winning once back in 1994 for his performance as Todd Manning on One Life to Live.
Now the question becomes, will daytime fans get to see Roger on another soap? Share your thoughts on Howarth’s thoughtful and touching farewell to his time on General Hospital via the comment section below.
A class act all the way. Perhaps if corporate charges their minds, Todd could return some day.
Roger’s a leading man who was stuck playing a tertiary character as Austin. A lesser actor would’ve been dropped from the role after 6 months. He was very kind to not chastise the writers for lack of character development. In actuality, other than the moments of spark with Britt, Austin just never fit in.
To Roger’s credit, he took a totally unlikable character in Franco and made him interesting to watch. Chemistry with Stafford, Herbst, Shriner and Robin Mattson definitely helped.
What a shame, Roger is amazing. Mistake on GH to kill Franco off. I actually liked Frano & Elizabeth together with the boys. I love Roger and will miss him – he is a gem of an actor. GH’s loss – though, I never was interested in Austin, but his scenes with Maura West were always magnetic. Such chemistry there and… what a loss for GH.
I am tired of the dud that is Michael Easton. Silas, Hamilton etc etc are all snooze feasts. I don’t like Hamiton with Elizabeth – it’s still forced.
Enter the return as Franco… wishful thinking.
DAYS bring Roger Howarth on as the nu-Peter Blake… get him on contract for anything, DAYS!
You will be missed. Hope to see u somewhere on our screens soon.
Aaawwww sad– I luves Roger…he was given roles on GH well below his talents…
If he had been given an opportunity to have a great character he would have rocked GH and would have become a top-of-the-line character/actor and would be a GH mainstay Star.
Wasted, Roger was wasted- shame on the producers and writers..
Roger is gold and treated as tin…. imo
WTH is wrong with TPTB that they can’t write for this amazing actor?!? I am beyond pis$ed off! Now what are they going to do? Bring him back as another character? Oh, brother! In my opinion, bringing him back as back-from-the-dead-Franco would require a lot of suspended belief ~ though I thought killing off Franco was a BIG mistake. I loved him with Elizabeth and her boys. Bringing him back as Todd would perhaps be interesting but what would draw him back to PC? Carly has moved on with Drew now and Starr is no longer there. It’s just a real shame!
He takes over Aurora Media in hostile bid. He saw how Victor and Vicki (OLTL) maintained the high standards of The Banner and wants to reinvent himself.
Bring him to Days he is awesome
With what budget? DAYS can’t afford to keep their own legacy characters, they certainly couldn’t find the money for Roger.
I’m trying to think of who he could play on Days if they did bring him on. Hell only knows the Horton family has been entirely wiped out. Only two people in the current cast using the Horton name are Lucas – who is stuck in prison and only seen once every 3 months or so, and Sarah, who I don’t think is sticking around long term either, and is not a bio-Horton.
Maybe they could bring him on as a recast of Scotty Banning, who would be Julie’s grandson & Eli’s half-brother? When we last saw Scotty… around 1990 or so, he had been SORASed and was played by Rick Hearst… who of course would later be Ric Lansing on GH.
So he wouldn’t have the Horton last name, but at least he would have some Horton DNA.
Now that said…. I’m not sure I want him on Days, because ReRon would try to make him the star of the show overnight… just like he did on GH.
Someone at Days read this and is saying “Hmmm” right now. I’M saying “Hmmm” right now.
So mad they got rid of roger Howarth!!!!
I have loved him since OLTL. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a Soap Opera function. He is an amazing, multifaceted actor. I wish Y & R would bring him in as a consultant for Sharon’s new business !! These two would have fabulous chemistry !!!
If they’re going to dump every character due to failure on the writers’ part then why not dump Esme, Willow, Michael, Finn and especially, that awful fake Drew? Roger is a gifted and unique actor who was thrown utter crappola. Here’s hoping he moves onward to better opportunities.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Who is Hudson in Cahoots With After Revealing Phone Call?

The mysterious Hudson (Troy Lennon Appel) is clearly in collusion with someone as witnessed on the Tuesday, August 24 episode of General Hospital.
Since Troy Lennon Appel made his debut on the soap on July 30, we already know he “appears” to be the true biological father of baby Phoebe, and is quite the bad dude after roughing up Ethan in Norway.
Now in Port Charles, claiming he is there for JJE (Jasper Jacks Enterprises) business, and with the edict to contact Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) and let her know her father named her the CEO of his company while he is “sailing” abroad, he was initially met with resistance when Josslyn refused to accept the job.

Courtesy/ABC
I’VE CHANGED MY MIND
However, after a recent turn of events, where Brennan (Chris McKenna) told Josslyn, the WSB has her next assignment, and it is to find out what’s going on with her father’s company, they demanded her to accept the CEO position. Now Josslyn is caught and has to back-petal after initially telling Hudson to bring her qualified candidates and she would pick one as her replacement.
In all-new episodes, while at the Quartermaine boathouse, Josslyn informed Hudson that she was now taking the CEO position. Josslyn cited that she realized she wanted to honor her father’s wishes and uphold his legacy.
Hudson is stunned and tries to dissuade her, and is quite suspicious over her sudden change of heart. Realizing no matter what he said Josslyn was not backing down, Hudson says he hadn’t been on board with Jax’s decision to give the company to Josslyn, but now he could see that maybe he’d been wrong about her.
HUDSON HAS A PROBLEM
Josslyn says failing herself, or her father, isn’t an option and when she commits to something she goes all in. She tells Hudson that she would appreciate his support. Hudson says she has it, as she turns to walk away after dropping her bombshell decision on him.
Next, a very pissed off Hudson, picks up his phone and makes a call to someone and tells them that Josslyn took the job. He intimates that this is bad news and will screw up their plans. He tells the person on the other end that he is going to make her change her mind!
So, where is this leading? Who could Hudson be working with on the inside and who did he call? How do you see General Hospital weaving in Josslyn taking over JJE as their new WSB mystery story? Put your creative hats on and let us know your thoughts via the comment section.Â
But first, check out the GH teaser below for today’s Wednesday, August 26 episode below, where Josslyn tells her mother, Carly to accept her decision of either taking the job at JJE or staying with the WSB!
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Josh Swickard Recalls Emotional Moment After His Final Scenes with Michael Easton, and Favorite ‘Chase’ Storyline

Josh Swickard (Harrison Chase, General Hospital) is the special guest on this week’s all-new episode of Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart. The GH fan favorite and leading men opened up about his life pre and post GH, his marriage to actress and producer, Lauren Swickard, and some of his toughest and most memorable moments during his eight-plus years as officer Chase of the PCPD.
One of the most heartbreaking moments came when Josh had to say farewell to his on-screen brother Finn played by soap veteran, Michael Easton. It was back on the Thursday, June 27, 2024 episode of General Hospital.
In it, Chase drives Finn to a rehab facility and the two brothers share a heartfelt talk in the car. Finn thanks Chase for allowing him to say goodbye to his daughter, Violet (Jophielle Love). Chase promises to take good care of her. However, Chase warns Finn to not to take any shortcuts on his way to sobriety and to always think of Violet’s wellbeing. It is apparent, the brothers don’t want to say goodbye, but on the count of three, Finn leaves Chase’s car and walks through the door of the rehab facility, while Chase in tears beats the steering wheel before drives away.

Photo: ABC
MISSING HIS TV BROTHER
Josh spoke to the “Soapy” podcast hosts about it and recalled, “In our last scenes together, and it was like his last day. Michael was like, ‘It’s okay.’ And I was like, ‘No, it’s not.’ I was supposed to be crying in the scene, I think. I was like a little glassy-eyed, a little glazed over. And then they were like, “And cut.” I was like, “Great.” I just like went behind the car and wept.”
Speaking of his professional and personal relationship with Easton, Josh expressed, “Michael is an awesome guy. He’s such a sweetheart. We’ve done fan events together in New York and he would show me things, like, ‘This where I used to live …’ He’s like an older brother to me.”
Not only did Josh lose his on-screen brother, but he also lost his on-screen father, Gregory, played by Gregory Harrison, when he was killed-off the show after the character battled ALS. “I think I was more just mourning friends that play family on a show, but a show that goes year after year, year round, and so they become family,” explained Swickard. “So, that part’s been hard for me of just losing friends that while, yes, you get to see each other, you get to call each other, it’s different (when they leave).”

Photo: JPI
CHASE IN A COMA IS FAVORITE OF JOSH’S
When asked, what has been his favorite storyline during his run on GH thus far, Josh took it back to when Chase became became critically ill after being poisoned by a toxic from Peter August (Wes Ramsey) meant for Finn. Eventually, Finn had to rescue his brother with the antidote for the toxin. That story played out from April to June 2021.
Josh explained, “Where I was in a coma and I was seizing and coughing and I had no blocking for like four months! It was great! It was a storyline where I was about to die and I had to say goodbye to a lot of lovely people and it was so exhausting. You get in the car and you feel like you got hit by a train every day because your body doesn’t fully know what acting is, apparently. I remember multiple days being like, ‘Oh, this is why I signed up for this.'”
Swickard also answered if there were moments in the storyline if he felt Chase was not going to survive. The GH star answered, “There were moments that I wondered. However, I think they were pretty upfront with me. They were like, ‘This isn’t what’s going to happen.'”
Check out the full conversation with Josh on the ‘Soapy’ podcast via the comment section below.
Now let us know, what has been your favorite scenes of Josh as Chase on General Hospital during his run? Do you miss the relationship between Chase and his brother, Finn? Let us know via the comment section below.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Is This the End for Brennan?

This week, all-new episodes of General Hospital tease a long-held secret revealed, a surprise cellmate and a life on the line. On Monday August 24, ABC released their weekly promo entitled “Keep Brennan Busy,” raising eyebrows that this could the beginning of the exit of the character, after it was reported that Chris McKenna (Brennan) is leaving the soap come this fall.
In the spoilers video: First, Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) is telling Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) that she has known the truth all along that she shot Drew (Cameron Mathison), even though she was her legal counsel and defender her during Willow’s trial of shooting the former congressman.
Willow is shocked, and her face shrinks up. What will she say in return? Will she just say, “yes” I did it and then blackmail Alexis to also keep her quiet, like she has been able to do to so many others?

Courtesy/ABC
DREW’S BACK TO HIS OLD SELF WITH A VENGEANCE
Next, Drew is suddenly on this renewed warpath to take down Sonny (Maurice Benard), but before he deals with that, he want to get the WSB Port Charles Bureau Chief out of the way. He informs his partner in crime Ava Jerome (Maura West) over drinks at the Metro Court his plan for Brennan. While Drew tells Ava his agenda, we cut to: a woman’s hands pouring a packet full of powder into a drink at the Metro Court pool area.
Drew gives Ava her assignment, “I need you to keep Brennan busy while I search his hotel room.” The question becomes, who is the woman who is drugging Brennan? Is this the first attempt at taking out the guy foreshadowing the future, or could this be the demise of Brennan?
YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOU MIGHT SEE IN THE SLAMMER
At the end of the video, Curtis (Donnell Turner) is seen in his cell at Pentonville. He gets what appears to be his new cellmate, and utters, “You?” Is this when Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota) has manipulated someone from the inside to visit Curtis and begin a plan to get what he wants from Jordan (Tanisha Harper) and use her lover to do his dirty work? Stay tuned.
Take a look at the rest of the official spoilers for the week of August 24-28 below.
MONDAY, AUGUST 24
Valentin makes a pitch to Jason. Brennan confronts Willow. Josslyn has news for Hudson. Laura briefs Anna. Tracy issues a warning.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25
Jason encourages Carly. Obrecht wants answers. Anna is tempted. Ric jumps to conclusions. Lulu offers relationship advice.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26
Nina is enraged. Jordan makes her loyalties clear. Michael seeks Sonny’s advice. Tristan opens up about his past. Felicia stonewalls Brennan.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27
Gio and Emma overhear an argument. Drew vows revenge. Ava feels slighted. Justine gets a shock. Alexis makes threat.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 28
Sonny makes a promise to Laura. Carly and Valentin make a decision. Anna offers support. Ava sets a trap. Drew is waylaid.
Check out the the latest GH promo, “Keep Brennan Busy” below.
Now let us know, do you think Drew’ plot against Brennan will be the untimely end of the WSB Port Charles Bureau Chief? How will Willow keep Alexis from opening her mouth about the fact that she shot Drew? Share your predictions and theories via the comment section below.
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