by Dan J Kroll

Posted Tuesday, March 28, 2006 10:24:19 PM

What would your reaction be to an ABC decision to recast Jax?  It's not a good idea. Rademacher is Jax and recasting wouldn't work.   48%   Jax is too important to just leave. A recast wouldn't be a bad idea.   25%   I don't care for Jax, so I'd just as soon see the character written out.   16%   I'm not a Jax fan, but a recast might let them 'change' Jax. So go for it.   5%   It doesn't really matter to me at this point what GH does with Jax.   3%   I don't believe that Ingo is leaving, so all the speculation is just silly.   2%   Other   1%     Poll Posted: March 28, 2006

Rumors are once again circulating that Aussie heartthrob Ingo Rademacher (Jasper "Jax" Jacks) is planning a departure from General Hospital. While the news may be hard for General Hospital fans to hear, it will come as no surprise to Soap Central readers: Soap Central first reported on Rademacher's plans to exit the show in September 2004.

"I am burnt out," Rademacher told the Australian publication The Sunday Mail. "All I have done in the last 10 years is go to work. [If I leave GH] I don't know if I want to stay in America, it's very corporate. I do want to have a farm where I can just veg out."

After Rademacher's interview appeared in print, the actor was quick to dismiss talk that his exit was imminent. However, now that the end of his contract is approaching those exit whispers have once again started up.

With Rademacher's on-screen alter ego in the midst of a front burner storyline, ABC obviously has a need to keep the character - if not Rademacher - in Port Charles. The contingency plans put forth by the network would appear to include a recast. A casting call has gone out for a character by the name of "Hugo," which many insiders believe to be code name for Jax. Hugo is described as a "sexy, suave and wealthy [Australian] Casanova in his 30's."

Naturally fans of Rademacher are up-in-arms over the possibility of a recast. "I can't believe GH is even toying with the idea of placing another actor in the role of Jax," said one fan on Soap Central's message boards. In a poll conducted by Soap Central when the news of Rademacher's possible departure first broke in 2004, 58% of those responding to the poll indicated that Rademacher's exit would be a huge blow to the show.

Indeed, the popular Australian star has been with the show for almost a decade. Rademacher made his debut on General Hospital in 1996 and - with the exception of a one-year break in which he appeared in the short-lived primetime soap, Titans - has been with the show ever since.

ABC does not comment on contract talks or rumors.