In a storyline shocker, Franco Baldwin died on today’s episode of General Hospital following a violent showdown with Peter August. Does this mean that Franco’s portrayer Roger Howarth is off the show?
Roger Howarth Sticking Around
Soap Opera Digest reports that Howarth, in fact, is not leaving GH. Details about how exactly he’ll be sticking around are being kept under wraps, but the actor shared his thoughts on the development. “I’m really excited,” Howarth says. “I have great faith in the people who think of these things. I’ve been in good hands so far.”
Viewers are going to have to wait a bit before finding out whose lines Howarth will be reciting. Franco pretty much flat-lined onscreen so it’s not likely he’ll be playing him again (although, it’s not impossible, either). Now that ABC has the rights back to the characters from both One Life to Live and All My Children, Howarth could pop up as his OLTL character Todd Manning, which he won a Daytime Emmy for back in 1994.
In fact, Howarth brought Todd to Port Charles shortly after OLTL went off the air back in 2012. In 2013, Prospect Park had acquired the rights to the OLTL and AMC characters, so GH had to write out Todd. Howarth exited as Todd in March of that year, but by May he was back on the show as Franco, the part originated by James Franco.
During his downtime, Howarth will be working with Cameo, a video-sharing website that features celebrities sending out personal messages. The actor will donate 100% of the profits from his messages to Feeding America.
All soaps, GH included, are famous for bringing actors back to shows in different roles. After Bradley Lockerman’s turn as Casey the alien, GH cast him as Shep Casey. Kristen Alderson brought her OLTL character Starr Manning to GH; later, she originated the role of GH’s Kiki, Ava’s (Maura West) daughter.
Who will Howarth be playing when he’s back on the show? Stay tuned to find out! In the meantime, take our poll below to let us know who you think he should play. General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. Check local listings for airtimes.
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