Andrew Hawkes went out with a bang, literally, when on the Thursday, July 2 episode of General Hospital, his character of WSB Director Ross Cullum’s reign of terror finally came to an end.

What was supposed to be only a short term role, turned out to be a six-month run for Hawkes, who became extremely popular with the fans of the ABC daytime drama series, even though on-screen Cullum perpetrated some of the most nefarious crimes and activities ever seen on the soaps.

Chief among those crimes were: stabbing Marco Rios (Adrian Anchondo) to death multiple times over, attempting to kill Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) on the pier with a mysterious baton he pulled out of his pocket, lying to Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) for years and tainting her medication with poison, where we come to find out she doesn’t even really have Huntington’s disease, shooing Cassius Faison (Ryan Paevey) and so much more.

Courtesy/ABC

ANDREW HAWKES PERSONAL MESSAGE

In the end, Agent Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) shot Cullum to his death during an epic shootout, marking the end of the line for Hawkes’ memorable turn on GH. As we head into the 4th of July weekend, Andrew took a moment to address all the fans for their comments and support and how much it it has meant to him with a video he posted on his Instagram.

Hawkes began, “I’ve received so many beautiful, incredible messages of support. I am so incredibly moved that you would take time out of your day to just say, ‘Hey, good job,’ or put a fire emoji (in the comment thread), or just even take a look at something I may have posted. I like to be reminded of the fact that I think that kindness is a superpower and it’s a superpower that we all have access to.”

“You guys have just treated me with so much kindness and I appreciate it so much and I promise you, I will never take it for granted,” a very touched Hawkes explained. “I read all of your messages. I can’t respond to all of them because I have two kids and a wife and my wife would divorce me. probably. So, I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. You’ve really picked me up and dusted me off and I appreciate it so much.”

Photo: ABC

REFLECTIONS OF TIME ON GH

Previously, Andrew told Soap Opera Digest how he felt once he wrapped, “It took me a few days to kind of recover and get perspective on what this whole experience meant to me. It’s been one of the greatest experiences of my career. It’s one of the things I’m most proud of and have had the most joy in doing.”

What did you think of Andrew’s heartfelt message of thanking all of you for your support through his run. Will you miss Ross Cullum? Hope GH might cast him in another role down the line? Let us know via the comment section.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Andrew Hawkes (@theandrewhawkes)

Days of Our Lives is teasing Last Week Tonight host John Oliver’s upcoming three episode guest star turn. The long-running soap opera gave Access Hollywood an exclusive sneak peek when their cameras were on set the day Oliver taped his scenes on the Peacock streaming soap opera.

As viewers know, Oliver is currently being seen on General Hospital in the role of the head of the WSB named “Z.” His last episode airs on Monday, July 6. Then next month, the late night talk show host will be seen on DAYS in a “mystery role” on August 11, 12 and 14.

The Access Hollywood cameras were at the Brady Pub in Salem, where Oliver, who’s character has quite the hair piece shared, “It is a dream come true. That’s the thing,” about getting the opportunity to appear on the iconic soap.

Courtesy/AccessHollywood

SOAP OPERA DREAM COME TRUE

Days of Our Lives first heard of John’s desire to be on a soap opera, back on the March 8 episode of Last Week Tonight when Oliver made his pitch expressing, “To all the soap operas out there, let me say this: I am officially offering myself to you. Write me a role, and I’ll be on your set so fast, it’ll make your head spin. I only have a few conditions: First, I don’t want to play myself, I want to be a character. And I want his name to be ridiculous. Also, I want to do something juicy — like murder or slapping or being slapped or being someone’s long-lost something — and, ideally, I’d like a dramatic closeup of my face. But in return, trust me, I will give my all to this performance.”

On DAYS, Oliver will appear in scenes with Dan Feuerriegel (EJ) and Maggie Carney (Rita). During his on-screen entrance, Oliver’s character is seen saying, “Not a bad place really if you like mosquitoes and men who wear flip flops.” He later tells Rita, (when she asks if Oliver’s character wants anything), “I would love a bacon sandwich and an oak milk latte with no foam.”

JOHN OLIVER GIVES HIGH PRAISE TO THOSE WHO WORK IN SOAPS

During a break from taping, Oliver shared his reaction when he got the call from Days of Our Lives to come join the cast. “Yes, we’re doing this.’ My reaction was (bleep), ‘yeah we are.’ Let’s hope that we agree on what this is, but it is getting done,” explained Oliver.

Giving kudos to everyone who works fast and furiously in the soap opera genre, John added, “People on soaps work incredibly hard. The schedule is nuts. This moves so fast. You do not want to be the sand in the gears of a machine that works like this. So, yeah, I’m just trying not to f’**K it up.”

Dan Feuerriegel (EJ) added, “I did not wake up going, ‘You know what? I’m gonna be wearing my pajamas doing a scene with John Oliver today.’ It was not on my bingo card. But, it’s just a lot of fun and it’s just been an absolute blast to work with John. Hearing John talk about how hard we work is actually a lovely thing. It’s a nice kind of feather in the cap as they say. And that being said, John has been working really hard too. He’s basically dropped into the deep end of the pool and he’s doing amazingly.”

Maggie Carney added, “John been so great and kind, and jumping into the soap opera lifestyle, if you will today. He is fast, of course, quick on his feet. He definitely likes to improvise, which I do too, but within the scope of the scene. So, that’s so much fun. He’s very present.”

You can watch the full segment below featuring John Oliver’s guest star turn on Days of Our Lives. Access Hollywood also promised there will be more with Oliver and his visit to Salem in August.

So, what role do you think John is playing that sees him interface with EJ DiMera? Are you looking forward to seeing how John fares on DAYS after his performances on GH? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

General Hospital pulled off yet another surprise in this drama and action-filled week of episodes when on Friday, July 3, none other than WSB Agent Vaughn returned in the form of Bryce Durfee!

The last time viewers saw Vaughn was back in November of 2025 when he was dragged away at the orders from WSB Port Charles Bureau Chief, Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). 

Previously, Bryce first showed up on the ABC daytime drama series as Agent Vaughan back on March 7, 2025. In the story, Vaughn was brought in by Brennan as Josslyn’s (Eden McCoy) WSB handler. However, one thing led to another, and Vaughn and Josslyn ended up in a steamy affair which is against the rules to be in any form of a relationship with another agent.

Courtesy/ABC

Try as they might to keep their hands off each other, and to stay away from each other, they would find covert ways to spend some “sexy time” together, until Brennan found out and that’s how agent Vaughn was literally dragged off the canvas!

WHO DID VAUGHN COME TO SEE?

It’s been eight months since we last saw Agent Vaughn who shows up out of nowhere at the PCPD to see Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) who is behind bars. He wants Britt to cooperate with the WSB because they know how much of a hand she had in the cold fusion prototype and the final project of her father, Cesar Faison.

Additionally, Vaughn met up with Molly (Kristen Vaganos), Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) and Charlotte (Bluesy Burke) to discuss the fate and whereabouts of Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) and Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart).

Now the big question looms, will Vaughn cross paths with and go see Josslyn who is recovering in the hospital from gun shot wounds, or just slink out of town? According to GH, as told to Soap Opera Digest, Bryce Durfee is back just for two episodes.

So were you glad to see Agent Vaughn back on the canvas? Do you hope Vaughn and Josslyn will reconnect even for a conversation? Weigh-in via the comment section below.