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Rowell speaks out on latest escapades of Winters clan on Y&R!

By Michael Fairman

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Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Victoria Rowell (Ex-Dru, Y&R) had some choice words when speaking with TV Guide Canada’s Nelson Branco in his new Soapgeist column out today.  The former Y&R star addressed the latest developments happening to the Winters clan on the top CBS soap. (See comments below!) In the meantime, Drucilla and Victoria fans are awaiting with anticipation for her first novel, Secrets of a Daytime Diva due out in May!

Rowell on Y&R’s Neil and Ashley’s out-of-the-blue interracial romance: “What is Y&R thinking? A desperate attempt to make music without an orchestra? The thought of Neil and Ashley hooking up brings to mind the unlikely combo of a harpsichord and didgeridoo. [Chemistry] is more than swapping spit, folks. It’s called timing, organic, character-driven storytelling, and tenure. Minimize it all you want, but Genoa City’s black history can’t be erased.”

Rowell on Malcolm recast Darius McCrary: “Why does Y&R continue to undervalue its fan base by recasting Malcolm with the highly questionable Darius McCrary? Although McCrary is a solid actor in his own right, it remains to be seen if the true blue fans will accept him as Malcolm. Talk about poetic licence! I can just hear the notes being tossed about in a writers’ meeting now: ‘We’ll blame the remarkable non-father/daughter resemblance on a recessive gene in the Barber/Winters tribal gene pool.’ Or is it because Y&R couldn’t afford Moore?”

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VR seems like she’s full of sour grapes. She left Y&R, she didn’t get fired, she needs to get over it and move on

Sour Grapes

Onca again, VR has taken to badmouthing Y&R; my question to her would be, if you think the show is so dang bad, with its writing, pairing, casting & actors with less than top notch abilities, why would you ever want to return to work for such a show?

I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again, as VR has proved my point, yet again: Whatever happened between VR & TPTB, CBS, Sony & the Y&R cast, it’s between them, the viewers don’t care & she’s using her fans to get back on the show, hoping that what she says will get the fans irate enough to overwhelm the show with letters requesting her return or boycott the show on her behalf, how sad is that?

What is wrong with pairing Neil & Ashley? They’ve been great friends for years, they’ve recently started exploring the possibility of something deeper, which so far has amounted to a couple visits, a date or two, a few kisses & him supporting her, as any good friend would. So far, nothing has happened between the two to warrant such a negative opinion of the pairing. She’d rather us be of the opinion that the only one for Neil is Dru & the only Dru must be played by herself, anything else results in negative response from the fans.

Can’t afford Shemar Moore? Who says money is even a consideration? SM playing Derrek Morgan on Criminal Minds is a great character on an even greater show, who’s to say he’d even consider leaving that show to return to Y&R & daytime? Maybe, just maybe, he’s happy where he is & wouldn’t consider leaving for any amount of money; maybe he has no desire to return to daytime; maybe in primetime he’s found his niche in life, no one knows for sure except SM & to speculate the money is the reason he’s not returning to Y&R is foolish at best.

Her comments of DM are horrible, IMO. Who & what gives her the right to be judge & jury about his acting abilities or him being cast as Malcolm? They guy has been on the show for what, a month maybe & in that time we’ve see him in only a few scenes, giving the fans little to base such a decision regarding the actor, yet, she’s somehow seen enough to publicly state that he can’t be the next Malcolm, even tho he’s “a solid actor in his own right”

This is nothing more than bitterness & sour grapes. Playing on the sympathies of the fans to get their help in getting her back on Y&R; a show she most obviously has very little regard for, let alone its cast. I personally never cared for “Dru” & don’t want her back, just my opinion; but, I sure wouldn’t want her back with VR knowing that during the past year or more, she’s done nothing but badmouth every aspect of the show including the actors, blaming everyone involved for her not being recast. Maybe it’s time she was honest with herself & her fans, looked in the mirror & found the real reason she hasn’t been recast, could it be that her many comments have only proved that she’s not a team player? Would they really want her as part of the show when she has such little respect for every aspect of it?

let’s face it–it’s book promo time!!

While Victoria has some valid observations, it sounds like a lot of sour grapes. Couldn’t she have given one positive comment?……

Although a kind word is always a good thing; much of what she says has been said by fans and the common viewer. She speaks her mind ‘nd her heart. She’s just, “keeping it real!”
I’ll buy the book! 😉 no doubt it is a good read-like her or not!

I loved “Dru” and VR. I miss her on the show but all the negativity that VR puts out
I don’t understand why she just doesn’t move on and let that part of her life be over. She has so much talent as an actress and an author but she lets her “Y&R” emotions over shadow her.

Shemar Moore was willing to come back for a short contract while still doing Criminal minds, but Y&R wanted long term and he wasn’t able. Y&R choose to recast. That’s life on a soap. So many changes going on in the soap world makes one wonder how much longer any of the shows will be on the air in the next five years. It’s been very sad with the loss of many shows the last few years.

Victoria Rowell is keeping it real and she does not have to be polite about the lack of AA s/ls for the AA actors on the show. Neil and Ashley don’t make sense and Darius is not Malcolm to me. So she has a point and the s/ls is terrible on Y&R.

Victoria is coming across as a bitter bitch with each new interview she does. Y and R producers will never have her back on the show because of her bitter attitude. I’m really starting to believe the negative rumors about her were true. Victoria has a beautiful daughter, i hope she doesn’t read and notice how bitter and bitchy mommy can come across in interviews. Victoria needs to be a better kinder role model for her daughter. Victoria is a beautiful woman, but her soul seems bitter and needs to release some hostility.

All soaps seem to force interracial relationships at some point and a large part of the trend is to prove that the soap industry has evolved in regards to race relations. But the truth is diversity on television as a whole needs to be improved. More asian, hispanic, indian, and native indian actors/actresses need to be represented more on all soap operas, night time dramas, comedies and reality shows. Most likely the neil/ashley relationship won’t last long because when ashley finds out the truth about faith she will literally go insane.

Seems like sour garpes to me . Why would you want to be a part of show that you constantly criticize? Certainly not a team player. Maybe she should start her own Soap Opera and cast the type of actors she likes.

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

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Mike Manning

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon)  and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.

According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.

Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene,  Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.

WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?

Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”

The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”

MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE

In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.

Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.

So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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