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Y&R's Michelle Stafford chats, "I think the "Phickers" will be very excited"!

By Michael Fairman

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Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Late last week, On-Air On-Soaps attended the 38th anniversary on set celebration of The Young and the Restless on the series soundstage at CBS.  Many of your Genoa City favorites were in attendance.  We caught up with Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) to find out her thoughts on her time with the series, a preview of what’s next for Phyllis. and if there is hope for “Phick” fans.  Plus, what the talented two-time Daytime Emmy winner submitted for contention for a nomination for this year’s race.  Here is our ” quickie’ conversation with Michelle!

Do you like what Phyllis has been up to on-air lately? Will viewers get to see her drive her own story soon?

MICHELLE: I think what she is going to start doing soon will be very fun, and I am very excited about it.  I am an honest girl, there are ebbs and flows. You are on a show for thirteen years and you do a big storyline, and then you sort of pull back to prepare for other things. So, being on a soap there are definitely ebbs and flows all the time.

Joshua Morrow (Nick) told On-Air On-Soaps in a recent interview there was hope for “Phick” fans. What would you say to that?

MICHELLE: Oh yes, there is a lot of hope for them. And, I think the “Phickers” will be very excited middle to late April.  Phyllis and Nick are a good coupling. You think of them being together, so that is good storytelling on the writer’s part.

Of your thirteen years on Y&R, what has been your favorite storyline?

MICHELLE: The affair with Nick was awesome, which is the only affair Phyllis has had, really.  When you look at these two characters on paper you would think no way would they be together, so that was really great.  I loved the Tim Reid material, her shrink! That was so much fun to play.

You are pre-nominated in the Lead Actress category for the Daytime Emmys. What episode or reel did you go with to submit for the final round of voting?

MICHELLE: I submitted the episode where Phyllis kicks Nick to the curb! I had two montages in there that slowed it down, but it is what it is.

What is one observation you have, when you look at the entire cast gathered here today for the series 38th anniversary celebration?

MICHELLE: Everyone on this show is very pretty.  I have to tell you a funny story. People will set me up on dates, and I will say, “What does he look like?” And, they will say, “Oh he’s gorgeous.” Then, I will see a picture and go, “Oh” and that is because, look at this cast we look at every day! It’s warped my judgment of the male human race. (Laughs)

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NO to Phick! Omg I swear if they re-re-re-re commit again I will turn the channel!

I don’t like or never did like Phick. I still don’t.

I love Phack!!! they are awesome together.

Thank you so much for the interview. I love Phick! Michelle and Joshua are amazing!

Phyllis and Nick are my all time favorite couple. Thank you for the interview.

YUCK! I can NOT stomach another pairing of this ICKY duo! I will NOT watch a redo of PUKE part 2!

Ashley you said it perfectly! A phick reunion will be the final straw for me watching Y&R. I will officially be done.

Later, kids! I can’t wait for a re-pair! Jack and Phyllis are such a bore. Give me hot sex over chemistry any day!

We will miss you. 🙂

Unfortunately for “phickers”, that couple will never last because Nick will always want Sharon when he is with Phyllis 🙂 Shick = true love. Phick = just sex.

i love nick and phyllis a lot i can wait tell they come back togther with their daugter and family they are the best couple on the show ever can see i it is better than nick and diane

go Phick you rule

OMG this is the most exciting of news, I cannot wait to see them once again grace my screen, how I have missed this coupling, first Josh and now Michelle has given this fan hope. I will once again become glued to my set. Phick fan signing in and up

Am I dreaming? I have been longing and waiting for them to come back to us and it looks like there is a definite start coming.

This show is about to explode from all that Phick chemistry being released again.

Great interview

YES!!!!!!!! I am an ABSOLUTELY GENUINE PHICK fan!!!!!!!! Never a Phyllis or Nick fan in the past until they were paired up!!!!!!! Give me my Josh – Michelle MAGIC, I can’t say anything to describe what I am feeling right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO MICHELLE, GO JOSH, GO PHICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BLOW UP THE SCREEN!!!!! STEAM UP THE SHOW!!!!!!!!! After all, you are the best thing that happened to it!!!!!

Personally I’m one of those “Phickers” who is thrilled to hear that Phick may not be over! They are the ONLY reason I watch Y&R & the day they broke Phick up is the day I stopped watching the show. I look forward to Michelle & Joshua bringing their one of a kind chemistry back to Y&R. It’s definitely needed!

Thank you Michelle!!

Ewwww NO MORE PHICK!!!! They are disgusting together!

I want to see a re-pairing of PHICK only because I want to see Phyllis pulverize the new Diane. It’s been too long coming, and once Stafford’s Phyllis realizes that Nick has Diane-Skank on him she’s going to freakin’ lose it on her!

Yes I’m Soooooooo Excited love Phick !!!!!!!

No to Phick it was awful to watch for years!

I might take a hiatus of some sort, same old same old is not working for me!

Phick was the hottest couple in daytime ever! YES! YES ! YES! to nick and phyllis burning up the screen again! I stopped watching because of their breakup but hopefully the writers will fix that mistake. PHICK 4 EVER.

Yea!! I love Phick!! Such a terrific couple! Can’t wait!

GROSS!!!! phICK is the most nasty couple in daytime history. SHICK is the best!!

Dear Michael,
As usual another great interview. After Joshua’s interview I remember asking you to go get one from Michelle and so you did!! So thank you very much. And as usual Michelle NEVER EVER DISAPPOINTS. She is such a great lady who obviously loves Y&R very much and especially her FANS.

This is what Y&R needs right now some major BUZZ that only Phick do so well more than any other couple on the show. And the irony is they weren’t even supposed to be long-term and here we are 6 years later and they are still going strong and still have that buzz about them. Already your own board has been lit up with responses and so have others apparently. It does not matter whether people love Phick, like Phick, hate Phick, or dislike Phick..the simple and indisputable fact is that whenever Joshua or Michelle mention the slightest positive thing about Phick or talk about Phick in general, soap cyberspace goes crazy. Some people get excited or happy and some pull out their claws LOL. I LOVE IT!! Either way if I were Maria Bell, CBS & Sony I would pay attention because the soap genre really needs something to keep it alive. They can’t always live on the “we used to do it like this in the past”, they need to mix it up old & new.

And for Y&R nothing gets more buzzworthy than just the mere mention of Phick LOL!! And heavens know, this show needs some oxygen..I can’t believe I am watching CNN in the daytime vs. Y&R when all I want to do for an hour of the day is escape from reality.

Very well said… on all accounts! You rock!

Summed it up perfectly..I love reading your responses and takes. Phick fan now and always

Phick was great. They destroyed them. Phyllis deserves a real man. Not JerkNick!!!

Love, love, LOVE Phick and Michelle Stafford. Can’t wait to see what April has in store for the best couple on daytime. Its about time Phick finds their way back to one another.
Thanks for the great interview!

Great gobs of gag-me! Phick sucked then and they suck now. It is gross to see an elderly woman like MS with a baby-faced wuss like JM. The affair between Nick and Phyllis destroyed this show. It has never been the same. It was all about porn and nothing about love. Nick and Sharon had depth and were all about the sort of overall love and tenderness that made y and r the great show it was. Frankly I wish you would stop interviewing MS and trying to encourage a regrouping of a couple that was the worst pairing ever on this show. In an interview AFTER this one, JM said that there is no more Phick…that he has turned a page on that relationship. So I wish that MS and JM would get their stories straight.

Wow. You’re mean.

OK… I have to ask.. are you completely forgetting Sharon’s deeds while Nick was with Phyllis? Your 2.0 version of Cricket “the Paragon of Virtue” was out shoplifting and sleeping with any man who would have her! Don’t got hating….. just sayin!

Phyllis isn’t old by any means, but when paired with Nick the age difference does show.

How dare you be so CRUEL! You must be a miserable person. Instead of spending your time watching this show you need to spend it on a couch. MS is a REAL person with REAL feeling … what is wrong with you?

Shick is the gross couple ewwwwww! Sharon has slept with his brother and tried to bang his daddy so revolting. Whooooohooooooooo!!!!! to phick the only woman who has never betrayed him is phyllis and they have crazy chemistry can’t wait for this!.

Oh and one more thing…I have to snicker at the way MS wants to be with JM. Laugh at the notion that she thought the affair with Nick was ‘awesome.’ In more than one interview she ‘pretended’ to realize that breaking up a marriage is hardly awesome. And here she is spewing out her genuine feelnigs. Hooray! Lets break up another marriage!

You take things wayyy too seriously. It’s a TV show, honey.

This is a TV show, and maybe Michelle realized that she did enjoy the coupling, maybe it took her years to admit it, I am not sure why a realization about the fun she had acting with her acting partner is something to snicker about. And Nick or Phyllis is not married to anyone, they are both free.

I am not even going to go into a back and forth, what I am happy to see is that my two fave actors from my fave show, loves my fave reel couple.

YESssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss! Can’t wait

I liked your short interview with Michelle. I don’t know if I want to see her with Nick, though. I think she needs a new man on the scene now. The show is getting a bit stale for me now. They need a really good shake-up. I wish her luck on the Emmy’s, but don’t think she is deserving of it. We shall see….

Finally some hope for phick fans! 🙂 It’s long overdue. This was such a fantastic interview. I love MS. And I love what phick did for Y&R. Before phick I would only watch Y&R causally. But when phick started it really breathed some new life into the show and I just could not miss an episode. Shick was so over and done by then. Phick came in at the right time to make everyone take notice. I hope it can do that again real soon. Y&R is not the same without phick together.

I love Nick & Phyllis they need to be together because they are best couple in daytime history and I want to watch them on t.v.

Go phick forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love you Michelle

Good Lord! I’m so sick of all the Phick pimping, because truth be told I think they were THE WORST coupling in Y&R history. I’m sick to my stomach to think that Phick will reunite after only 1 year, while the fans of one of the best couples in Y&R history, Shick, created by the master himself, Bill Bell, will be teased and jerked around even longer. Wow. I guess I really have ZERO reason to tune back in to watching. Nick and Phyllis should NEVER reunite. They are contrived and just not believable in any shape or form. They literally make me ill.

Go lie down you’ll be okay … lol!

I agree Karlie!!! Phick is NASTY! They’ll never last because Sharon and Nick are soulmates. Shick fans have been waiting for years and yet its phick that gets questioned all the time. Who cares about phick – WHAT ABOUT SHICK?

I am so excited that we will be getting some Phick soon. Breaking them up and making Nick pin after Sharon, a woman he wasn’t even all that gaga about during the last years of their marriage was ludicrous. Nick and Phyllis are phenomenal together and sizzle up the screen together, there’s a reason TV Guide named them the most popular couple in Y&R history and why they were voted the best supercouple on the Y&R 35th anniversary site despite the fact that were going head to head with Y&R’s royalty supercouple, Victor and Nikki. It’s t9ime they were reunited and given a storyline about them and not saving Sharon, who actually sizzles with Adam surprisingly enough. Let’s get back to the heat, intrigue, fun-loving, steamy Phick that so many viewers fell in love with and stop wasting the palpable chemistry between Michelle Stafford and Joshua Morrow but pairing them with others that only produce lukewarm results. With Billy and Victoria going strong, Sharon and Adam’s wrong but right romance, and the probability of Nick and Phyllis reuniting, I just may have reason to actual tune in to the whole show again.

Nick and phyllis move faster then marcus allen.

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, Zamprongna 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 down 100% to play. “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 and 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? 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 of them 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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