After weeks of contract negotiations, General Hospital's Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth Webber) and the ABC soap have struck a deal that will keep her in Port Charles for years to come.
"There was a lot of speculation that I was unhappy at GH, which was never the case. I love my job," the actress tells TV Insider. "I love the people I work with. By not saying something, I was kind of making it worse. It was so hard keeping quiet."
When asked about the rumor that she was in talks to join Days of our Lives, the actress was a bit unsure what she should or shouldn't say. "I don't know if I can comment on that. I will say that other shows definitely showed interest in me. They showed a lot of support for my leaving GH, if that's what I ultimately chose to do. I just shouldn't name any one particular show. The fact that I received interest from the other soaps only added to the speculation I was unhappy. Word got around. I guess when you've been on a show for nearly 19 years, other shows respect that."
A rep for the ABC soap says there won't be a noticeable break in Herbst's on-screen appearances due to the negotiation period.
"I'm pretty lucky," she says of her loyal fan base. "They're a very close-knit group and they've followed me and Elizabeth for almost 19 years. I am so grateful for that. They literally got me through the contract [talks] day by day. When I was doubting myself, and thinking that I might not be able to stay on GH, I would read their comments on the Internet and feel so secure in whatever decision I made. I knew it was going to be okay, no matter what. They sent flowers and cupcakes. Everything they did throughout the last two months has been remarkable. I wish I could hug them all."
Herbst joined GH in August 1997. In January 2011, fans and even Herbst's costars were stunned when she was let go by the show. By March 2011, ABC re-signed the actress to a contract. Details of Herbst's contract were not disclosed, but the deal is a multi-year contract, so hopefully fans (and Herbst) won't be going through this sort of turmoil again anytime soon.
While Herbst is staying put, Elizabeth will be facing some big changes. For more on that, click here. And for the full TV Insider interview, click here.
UPDATE
Contrary to ABC's assurances, Rebecca Herbst has now confirmed that her character will be off-screen for a period of time. For the complete update, click here.
Are you relieved to hear Herbst is staying in Port Charles? How worried were you that she might leave the ABC soap? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
