Fan fave’s return packed a punch.
Updated December 2.
Emma Samms has wrapped up her time on General Hospital as Holly Sutton in an explosive way.
With help from her friends, she was able to fake being set on fire and blowing the cabin up before Robert (Tristan Rogers) and Felicia (Kristina Wagner) had her taken away by ambulance.
Of her return, Samms said, “I loved every minute of it. I loved the story, I loved working with all those fantastic people, all those familiar faces in front and behind the camera.
They were all so nice to me, so welcoming, and made me feel so comfortable.”
She told Soap Opera Digest, “Holly has the freedom to go off and rescue Ethan because most think she’s died in a fiery blaze.” The actress said she’s open to a return, though not full-time since her life is in England.
Charles Shaughnessy talked about his reunion with Samms saying, “Oh that was such a nice surprise.
I had heard rumors around the corridors that she was coming back and then one day, there she was, in the flesh! She knocked on my dressing room door and it was j just like old times.”
Samms last airdate was November 30.
Updated October 5, 2022:
Emma Samms is returning to General Hospital as Holly Sutton after almost two years of being away from the ABC soap. The actress was last seen as Holly in 2020, before postponing her return after contracting Covid.
She says, “So excited! And so grateful to @valentinifrank for making this possible despite my ongoing Long COVID.”
The show revealed in a jaw-dropping cliffhanger on September 18, 2020, that Holly wasn’t dead, but that she was being held hostage by a mysterious villain at some undisclosed location.
Samms told Deadline, “I can’t believe that it’s been 40 years since I first appeared on General Hospital and that, once again, I get to play the wonderful character of Holly Sutton.”
She added, “No one is more interested in what’s happened to her since we saw her two years ago, being held captive by a mysterious villain, than me!”
From the General Hospital PR team, Executive Producer Frank Valentini said, “I am thrilled the wonderful Emma Samms will be returning to the canvas in October, so we can continue telling Holly’s story.”
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Kelly Thiebaud exits and the latest GH comings and goings
Plus, fans will be able to finally learn what happened after we saw her alive and being held hostage.
SoapsSpoilers wonders who viewers think has Holly and who was the woman that the WSB found in the shallow grave?
Could Helena Cassadine be holding her hostage?
We’re not sure but come October 19, we should be at least a little closer to the truth when she returns.
Samms was originally supposed to make a full GH comeback in 2020, but those plans were shelved due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Before that, she was seen in 2015.
She has since suffered from Long Covid, further delaying her return, but told Digest last year, “They set up this marvelous story right before the pandemic hit and I was really excited about coming back.
And then not only was there a pandemic, but I got sick, and Frank has been just wonderfully patient and supportive and understanding, way more than I could possibly have ever hoped.”
She happily tweeted, “Hurrah! #covidnegative” on June 23.
Hurrah! #covidnegative pic.twitter.com/2Sz0Z37UHZ
— Emma Samms MBE (@EmmaSamms1) June 23, 2022
Before that in April, the actress told her fans, “Before you throw away your masks, please think about this: Long Covid is affecting between 5 and 10 percent of people who get Covid.
Even those who are fully vaccinated. I’ve had Long Covid for more than 2 years. You don’t want Long Covid. Trust me.”
She tweeted: “So, what I thought was just bad PESE (Post-Exertional Symptom Exacerbation) is actually another round with Covid and I tested positive this morning.
“The ‘Antivirals aren’t available. Any reinfected Long Covid folks out there who can tell me what I might expect?”
So, what I thought was just bad PESE (Post-Exertional Symptom Exacerbation) is actually another round with Covid and I tested positive this morning.
Antivirals aren’t available. Any reinfected Long Covid folks out there who can tell me what I might expect? pic.twitter.com/oOcYH6j41B— Emma Samms MBE (@EmmaSamms1) June 15, 2022
Later, the actress gave an update, “Thanks everyone so much for your kind and very helpful responses. I’m still feeling rough and still testing positive, so hiding away in the bedroom and keeping everyone safe.
Excellent, 5 ⭐️ room service being provided by @SimonMcCoyTV 🥰”
Thanks everyone so much for your kind and very helpful responses. I’m still feeling rough and still testing positive, so hiding away in the bedroom and keeping everyone safe.
Excellent, 5 ⭐️ room service being provided by @SimonMcCoyTV 🥰— Emma Samms MBE (@EmmaSamms1) June 21, 2022
A little about the actress, at the age of 11, Emma was accepted into the Royal Ballet School but after attending the school for nearly six years, an injury forced her to give up her childhood dream of becoming a ballet dancer.
Compelled to explore new fields, Emma began modelling at 16, representing Kanebo Cosmetics, a
leading Japanese cosmetic firm. She appeared in fashion magazines around the world, including Vogue
among others.
No one was more surprised than Emma when her first film audition won her a starring role in the
film Arabian Adventure opposite Christopher Lee and Mickey Rooney. Soon afterward, Emma
relocated to the United States and was cast in the mini-series Goliath Awaits opposite Mark Harmon.
In 1982 Emma was offered a leading role in the ABC daytime drama General Hospital.
Audiences enthusiastically followed her character, Holly Sutton, until she departed the show in 1985.
Much to the delight of her devoted General Hospital fans, Emma has returned to the show numerous
times, most recently in September of 2020.
From 1985 to 1989, Emma appeared as Fallon Carrington Colby on the primetime dramas
Dynasty and The Colbys.
Her post-Dynasty work has been extensive, concentrating on feature films for
television and theatrical distribution, including starring roles in Delirious, opposite John Candy, and in
The Marksman, opposite Wesley Snipes.
Most recently, Emma returned to her recurring role in the
popular BBC television drama, Doctors.
Emma made her stage debut in 2009, dancing with Adam Cooper in Shall We Dance at London’s
Sadlers Wells theatre, finally realizing her dream to dance on stage.
Alongside her career as a performer, Emma has been enjoying another career as a writer with her
very first screenplay His Bodyguard produced by USA Network in 1998.
In 2013, Emma made her directorial debut, directing a music video for Hat Trick Productions.
In
2014, she wrote and directed a short film called The Law of Moments, shot over two weekends in and
around London.
The Law of Moments had its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film
Festival and also screened at the British Film Institute (BFI) and the Boston Film Festival, receiving
enthusiastic reviews.
In 2015, Emma wrote and directed a radio drama series, “Visitors,” for BBC Radio Gloucestershire, which won a Bronze trophy at the New York Festivals International Radio Awards in June 2016.
For more than seven years, Emma has written a popular monthly column for the glossy UK
magazine Cotswold Life.
Emma co-founded the Starlight Children’s Foundation, an international organization that helps seriously ill children and their families throughout the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia.
The idea of fulfilling the wishes of ill children was inspired by her brother, Jamie, who died aged eight of aplastic anemia.
It was because of her ongoing efforts on behalf of Starlight that Emma received an MBE from HRH Queen Elizabeth in her 2016 90th Birthday Honours.
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organizations, and public service.
Emma currently lives in England with her husband broadcaster and journalist Simon McCoy.
She has a son, Cameron, and a daughter, Micha.