General Hospital
Roger Howarth Explains His Short Break From General Hospital
General Hospital fan favorite Roger Howarth (Austin) hasn’t been on screen on recent episodes of the ABC daytime drama seres, and now the actor himself has explained his short disappearance.
While sharing a selfie via his Instagram account, Roger explained he was out of commission, while offering up some inspiration along the way. Howarth, who has been publicly private on social media, recently joined the social media platform, much to the delight of many.
In his post, Roger explained his absence with a photo of him working out at the gym.
“Work,” he noted. “Progressive overload is the theory that whatever you do next, should be more challenging. After a month off for Covid and knee MRI, I am back. And…accountable to you. Another gym post in 30 days. In that time, we can both try something new and difficult! Deal? It’s a way for us all to support and lift one another up. Peace. Seriously… peace.

Photo: RHowarthIG
Since coming to GH, the Daytime Emmy-winning star has played three roles. When One Life to Live came to its conclusion, after being cancelled by ABC, Howarth brought his character of Todd Manning to GH. However, when legal troubles over rights ensued between ABC and Prospect Park (who launched the online version of the series), he had to be given a new role specific to GH, and thus Howarth took over the role of Franco, previously played by James Franco. Later, when GH killed off the character in 2021, Roger returned to the series some time later as a new character, Dr. Austin Gatlin-Holt.

Photo: ABC
Roger’s return to taping all-new episodes of GH couldn’t come at a better time, as Austin’s story with Ava (Maura West) and his knowing that Nikolas Cassadine (Adam Huss) is alive and well, while she does not, will provide plenty of drama in the months ahead. Many are also hoping that a love story between Austin and Ava will fully bloom.
So, glad to know Roger is on the mend and coming back to tape all-new episodes of GH? Comment below.
The role of Austin is so beneath this actor.
Franco, Liz and the boys was a priceless story that GH destroyed. One of their biggest mistakes IMO.
I agree 100%.
Agree 100%
Franco and Liz had magic.
Her boys knew it too.
Still confused why the SL went south…
I agree! I read that RH no longer wanted to play Franco as the character committed too many terrible crimes and felt he couldn’t be redeemed. I really liked his version of Franco. I thought Roger H and Rebecca H. had great chemistry. I loved the relationship he had with her boys. I wish they would have recast RH as Lucky, if only to keep that pair together and reunite Liz and Lucky. Crazy thought I guess….
It wasn’t Roger’s decision to kill off Franco. That was the network edict to remove long term characters associated with sexual assault. That’s why they denied the request to bring back Todd and brought around a quick exit for Harmony.
RH as Lucky??? He’s only 5 years younger than Genie Francis!
He has been a great actor to watch and enjoy since he first appeared on OLTL… and to watch his character grow from the whole Marty / Todd original storyline
GH really dropped the ball here when they killed off Franco, then they dropped the ball again by with just having his new character idle for so long, Is he not a Quatermaine? why give up on the character association with the shows biggest family? doesn’t make sense, somebody got to fix this mess. He’s a Quatermaine so have him play with them..
Gh missed there calling by not making Roger(Austin) Alan Quartmaine’s Son. There would have been plenty of story there. Very sad that the Ex Producer Frank Valentini only plays on. The Corinthos family. The Q family is a legendary family and is definitely more important than Sonny and Carly Corinthos. Love Roger and Maura
Well.. they did make him Alan’s nephew. Eventually. But now they seem to ignore his Quartermaine family connections while trying to build up this ridiculous redneck “mafia” family (apparently his mother’s side of the family tree) which they have now retconned once again to be somehow connected to Cyrus the Virus.
Probably should have made him Jimmy Lee’s kid the first time around. Todd Manning never belonged on GH, and any attempt to resurrect “Franco” as a mild mannered art therapist and family man was beyond ridiculous. The real Franco was a psychotic serial killer who was properly disposed of when Jason emptied a clip into him and then burned down the building his body was in, just in case. No reason to ever undo that ending, let alone write something as weak as a “brain tumor” to excuse all of his crimes & terrorism.
I wish they would bring Kim Zimmer on as his mother
In theory, that works, but not gonna happen due to some comments Kim made that Frank took the wrong way when she returned to OLTL in its final years as Echo.
I didn’t even notice that he was gone. Too bad he didn’t take his cousin with him.
I love Roger as an actor whatever role he plays…one of the primary reasons I tune in to GH. He’s my favorite of the cast
Roger Howarth is the best actor on daytime, and in my opinion one of the best actors on any medium. I would watch him play any character but it’s a shame he can’t continue to play Todd Manning since I watched that character for so many years and enjoyed seeing the character development that happened with the character. Either way I’ll be watching Roger!
The writing for Austin was pretty bad. He was never given a good story line. They paired him up with Maxie not a good fit then they kill him off and no expectation as who did it.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Chris McKenna On Jack’s Reaction to Carly Cheating On Him with Valentin: ‘Heartbreak and Absolute Rage and Humiliation’
The stage is set for next week on General Hospital, after yesterday’s May 1 cliffhanger, when Brennan (Chris McKenna) sneaks into Carly’s (Laura Wright) house and heads up to her bedroom, bursts in the door and finds her between the sheets, albeit at that moment alone.
However, Jack is already armed with plenty of ammo, he saw two glasses of wine in Carly’s kitchen, Josslyn (Eden McCoy) already lit the fire, by telling him her mother was seeing someone else, the WSB bureau chief then went to visit Carly’s ex, Sonny (Maurice Benard). The mobster’s reaction pretty much sold Jack that Carly must be sleeping with another man.
As Jack goes to check out the situation to confirm his suspicions, Carly and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) have just hit the sheets, after fighting their attraction once again for each other. Now comes the moment of truth that Carly has been sleeping with Brennan’s sworn enemy, Valentin.

Courtesy/ABC
In a preview of what’s to come, Soap Opera Digest spoke to both Chris McKenna and Laura Wright where they talked about the upcoming scenes. McKenna expressed, “This has been coming for such a long time.” He also previews, “Brennan comes at her pretty aggressively.”
THREE’S COMPANY
Wright added, “Carly didn’t expect Brennan to walk into her bedroom! He doesn’t have a key. It’s late at night. She thinks she and Valentin are in the clear. She sees that he’s so angry and so worried about being cheated on… but not that he’s sorry for lying to her face or because her daughter is in danger because of him!”
As to how Jack will handle the situation from here and finding out that Carly is with Valentin, McKenna confirms, to expect, “heartbreak and absolute rage and humiliation” from Jack. He’s thinking, ‘This can’t be real. This can’t have happened. I can’t be this stupid. I can’t have been this blind.’ And as to Jack’s current state of mind, coming into the situation, “Jack is drunk and a little unhinged and the audience finally gets a glimpse of what’s going on underneath that rigid exterior.”
Needless to say, the fallout will be huge, and McKenna is proud of the trios work in the scenes, sharing that Laura Wright was a fantastic as ever, and that GH’s executive producer, Frank Valentini was on the set the entire time with Laura, James and him, making this story point play out to its full effect.
So, are you excited to see how this plays out between Brennan, Carly and Valentin? Do you think this will cement Carly and Valentin as a couple, or will Carly regret what she’s done to Jack? Weigh-in on how you hope this all plays out via the comment section below.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Jonathan Bennett Receives 3 ‘Critics Choice Real TV Awards’ Nominations for Hallmark Series, ‘Finding Mr. Christmas’
Many things are coming up roses for Jonathan Bennett! On the heels of the news that he is set to debut this month in the role of Joe Fitzpatrick on General Hospital, who is rumored to be a new love interest for Lucas Jones (Van Hansis), comes the news that Bennett’s reality series, Finding Mr. Christmas has received 3 nomination for the Critics Choice Real TV Awards.
Bennett’s Hallmark Channel series finds itself in tough competition alongside fellow nominees: RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV), Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix), Survivor 50 (CBS), Top Chef (Bravo) and The Traitors (Peacock). In addition, Jonathan himself is nominated for Best Show Host and the series participants as the Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series.
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) revealed the nominees for the eighth annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards on Thursday, which recognize excellence in nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. Winners will be announced online at CriticsChoice.com on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at 9:00am PT/12:00pm ET.

Photo: Hallmark
Taking to his Instagram to celebrate the nominations, GH’s Bennett, enthused, “3 Critic Choice Nominations! I’m so proud of the FINDING MR CHRISTMAS and to be in the company of all the legends in all these categories is so surreal! Congrats to Hallmark Channel and to our nominated cast and nominated show and everyone who made this magical show possible. This is crazy! This gives FMC 6 Critics Choice nominations in 2 years. Not bad for a little show on Hallmark Channel. What are your thoughts on our show?” Jumping first into the comment thread was one of his new GH co-stars, Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) who expressed, “Yeah buddy!!!🔥🔥”
In the series, Bennett, the host and co-creator spends eight weeks guiding 10 aspiring actors through a series of “festive face-offs” and acting challenges alongside actors like soap opera notables, Hunter King (ex-Summer, Y&R) and Alison Sweeney (Sami, DAYS). Along the way, they develop their skills and a bond with one another. The show, which is available on Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Plus, highlights LGBTQ+ representation with openly gay contestants vying to be the next Hallmark star.
It should be noted that Traitors received the most Critics Choice Real TV Award nominations with 6 nods, followed by Dancing with the Stars with 4.
Bennett is very familiar to daytime fans having started his career as JR Chandler on All My Children in 2000-2001, before landing the part of Aaron Samuels in the motion picture, Mean Girls in 2004 starring Lindsay Lohan, which would become his breakout performance.
You can check out the full list of Critics Choice Real TV Award nominations here.
So, excited for Jonathan Bennett’s General Hospital debut this month? Have you ever watched Finding Mr. Christmas on Hallmark? Let us know via the comment section below.
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General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Kelly Thiebaud on Britt and Cassius Sibling Drama, But Who Will Ultimately Blow His Cover?
On the April 30 episode of General Hospital, Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) had some choice words and warning for her brother Cassius Faison (Ryan Paevey) who has been masquerading as his twin, the very dead, Nathan West.
As the story has unfolded, viewers learned that Britt knew all along that when “Nathan” showed up in Port Charles seemingly resurrected with a missing 7 years of his life unexplained, that Cassius was taking his place.
Now in developments on today’s GH, Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) is figuring out that this guy pretending to be Nathan is someone else, and Cassius learns from Britt, that Joss is not just a ditzy sorority girl as he claimed, but a WSB agent! The moment stuns Cassius. Are the walls about to close in on him and his charade?

Courtesy/ABC
Daytime Emmy winner, Kelly Thiebaud spoke to Soap Opera Digest, about the story point and getting the opportunity this time back at GH to work with Ryan Paevey, when she hadn’t had the chance to before.
BROTHERLY LOVE?
Thiebaud expressed on sharing scenes with Ryan Paevey, “It’s just been so wonderful to have him back and to actually work with him! When he first came onto the show (as Nathan at the end of 2013) I was kind of heading out — it was right towards the end of my contract, so we didn’t actually work together a ton. It’s been really refreshing and so much fun to really spend time together and get to know each other and work together. I think we have really great on-camera chemistry and banter with each other. I really enjoy working with him.”
With the stakes at an all-time, Thiebaud explained how she views her on-screen alter-ego’s involvement with her more hot-to-temper sibling and why Britt revealed the truth about Josslyn to him. “People finding out about Cassius would expose what she’s involved in and what she agreed to do,” explains Kelly “And now Josslyn is digging around, and she’s connected to Carly (Laura Wright) to Jason (Steve Burton) and that whole dynamic! It’s messy!”
BRITT’S MURKY FUTURE
Britt has currently also reached her breaking point with Jason being carted away by the WSB, Rocco (Finn Carr), the child she gave birth to, shooting Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) to protect her and Jason, Marco (Adrian Anchondo) being killed after trying to help her, and Cullum holding over her head getting her Huntington’s disease medication to control her symptoms, while blackmailing her into finishing the research on her father, Cesar Faison’s, final project. Thiebaud summed it up best for Britt right now, sharing, “It’s been a really tough time for her.”
So, who do you think will be the person to blow Cassius’ cover? Will it be Britt herself? Josslyn? Liesl? Brennan? Nina? Lulu? Rocco, Maxie, Cullum or someone else? Let us know your pick in the comment section.
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