General Hospital fans are thrilled now that Leslie Charleson is back in the role of Monica Quartermaine, as is the actress herself. But she's even happier that her character was able to continue appearing in Port Charles while she was recovering from a fractured hip.
The actress was sidelined for several months after tripping over her beloved dog Riley Rose, which forced the ABC soap opera to temporarily recast the role of Monica. Luckily, Oscar-winning actress Patty McCormack was able to step in for Charleson the very next day so planned storyline could continue.
"I'm so grateful for Patty McCormack for filling in," the actress tells Soaps In Depth. "It's a tough job to do. It's terrible [being a recast]! I've been there. No one likes you -- it doesn't matter what you do. But I got somebody who won an Oscar. Wow! I'm impressed. I couldn't have been more thrilled with that... Well, actually I wish I could have been there."
Though she has returned to work, Charleson reveals that her health issues aren't over yet. The surgery shortened one of her legs, and she's currently wearing a lift in one shoe. She's planning a doctor visit at the end of the month to hopefully repair it because, as she says, "I have things to do!"
One of those things is to fully enjoy her time at GH. As fans may recall, the actress just celebrated an impressive 41 years as Monica. For more details on that story, click here. Meanwhile, keep checking back to Soap Central for updates on Charleson's GH status. We'll let you know if her follow-up appointment results in another leave of absence. Fingers crossed that won't be the case!
How happy are you to have Leslie Charleson back on on-screen at GH? What did you think about Patty McCormack playing the role of Monica? 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.
