General Hospital Character Recap: Britt Westbourne

Britt Westbourne – originally a one-note villainess out to entrap a man, this shady lady evolved (ever so slowly) into an anti-heroine that the audience could both love to hate and hate to love. How else to explain their wonderful nickname for the character: Dr. Britch?

Who Is Britt Westbourne?

Dr. Britt Westbourne is the daughter of uber villains Cesar Faison and Dr. Liesl Obrecht, the younger sister of James Nathan West and first cousin of Nina Reeves. In 2012, Britt was tasked with emigrating from Switzerland to Port Charles, New York gaining employment at the town hospital, and using her feminine wiles to dissuade Patrick Drake of any and all notions that his beloved Robin might still be alive.

To further her goals, Britt availed herself to the grieving surgeon and insisted that nursing student Sabrina Santiago serve as nanny to Patrick and Robin’s daughter Emma. However, Emma proved herself a giant impediment to Britt’s endgame when she lobbied Patrick to dump his current squeeze and instead take up with the kinder and more gentle Sabrina.

Proving herself a capable schemer in her own right, Britt began blackmailing Maxie Jones into helping her sabotage Sabrina’s budding career. When she was caught out by a visiting Frisco and her secondary plan to frame her rival for cheating failed, Britt turned to Liesl for assistance.

The Perils of (Stolen) Motherhood
Spurred on by her mother, Britt took to the performance stage during the annual Nurses Ball and announced she was pregnant with Patrick’s child. A rigged paternity test supported her claim but her growing feelings for Nikolas Cassadine, as well as Patrick’s threat to sue for full custody, resulted in Britt confessing that that the baby’s real father was Brad Cooper.

After his birth, baby Ben was spirited away by Liesl and left in the hands of Faison. This spurs Britt and Nikolas to attempt a rescue mission but they merely became hostages of Jerry Jacks. In order to secure her freedom, Britt worked alongside Robin to help manufacture a cure for their imprisoner’s Polonium poisoning.

Once freed, Britt attempted to settle down with Nikolas but was forced to help ensure her mother’s release from prison – lest Liesl reveal that Ben is actually the result of Britt impregnating herself with Dante and Lulu’s stolen embryo.

When the truth was inevitably outed, Britt lost Nikolas but she managed to avoid a prison sentenced when she betrayed Liesl, who had once again kidnapped the baby and was attempting to convince Britt to go on the run.

Scheme Weaver

Desperate to reclaim Nikolas, Britt worked with wily Spencer to fake his kidnapping so she could “rescue” him and earn some redemption. The audacious plan backfired and Britt was forced to go on the lam with Faison.

She briefly resurfaced in order to visit with Brad and comfort Spencer, whose face had been severely burned. Two years later, Britt – tired of always having to be one step ahead of pursuing authorities – agreed to surrender herself.

She was remanded to Pentonville but managed to broker a deal that saw her gain early release – all she had to do was try and lure a fugitive Liesl out of hiding.

Britt once again bid Port Charles adieu but with Liesl now a free woman and Brad recently jailed for his part in a baby switch, it seems only a matter of time before she makes a return visit… General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.