General Hospital viewers are feeling “so many emotions” after it was announced that Emma Samms would be returning to the show as fan-favorite character Holly Sutton-Scorpio.
After a year off-screen, the network announced that the 63-year-old actress will return to Port Charles in early September.
Using social media to share the exciting development, Emma simply wrote in Xformerly known as Twitter, on Monday: ‘Breaking News…!’ along with a story from Varietywho was the first to report the news.
And it wasn’t long before General Hospital fans were expressing their joy over the casting bombshell and flocking to social media to voice their anticipation.
One wrote: “So many emotions… What wonderful news.”
General Hospital has confirmed that Emma Samms will reprise her role as Holly
The beloved character has been off-screen since last April, but will return again in September.
Another said: “What a fantastic way to start the week! This is the best news ever. Bring on September!”
A third expressed a similar sentiment: “Yes! So glad to see this beautiful face back in PC (Port Charles).”
“I can’t wait for you to come back!” continued a fourth. “I can’t wait to see what’s in store for you!”
A fifth posted: “The best of the best are back… Best birthday present ever. Thank you lol. Can’t wait to see Holly back with her people.”
British actress Emma first played Holly on General Hospital from 1982 to 1985, before returning for various roles over the past four decades, racking up more than 300 episodes.
Her last appearance on the soap opera was in April 2023 in a major storyline in which she, along with Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) and Scott Baldwin (Kin Shriner) teamed up in Greenland to stop Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy) from unleashing biological warfare to wipe out 80 percent of the world’s population.
After saving the day, she unsuccessfully attempted to rekindle her relationship with Robert, before eventually bidding farewell and trading Port Charles for Australia, where she planned to help Ethan (Nathan Parsons) pay off his debts.
Last year, Emma told Soap Opera Digest that she had been conflicted about whether or not to return to General Hospital.
General Hospital fans expressed their joy at the casting news and flocked to social media.
Emma has starred on General Hospital for over four decades (pictured, 1982)
The cast of the ABC soap opera celebrated its 30th anniversary in 1993
She said: “I think last time was almost too good. It was so great and so well received, to the extent that it was so perfect and so well received that maybe I should have walked away then, for good, and left with such a positive feeling.”
Speaking about her most recent return, she continued: ‘It’s not so much about my character, it’s about the story and actually, that’s a relief, in a way.
“Although my character is important to the story, it is not my character’s story.”
The news of Emma’s return to General Hospital comes just a month after the network announced that Jonathan Jackson would also reprise his role, Lucky Spencer.
Sharing the bombshell in a video posted to her Instagram, she said: ‘Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that I’ll be returning to General Hospital this summer.
“I’m very excited and can’t wait to get to work and see what’s going on in Port Charles. Excited to see Genie Francis, obviously, and many others.”