General Hospital fans had hope that Roger Howarth would be returning as One Life to Live’s Todd Manning, but it looks like that is not a possibility.
When Franco (Roger Howarth) was killed off last month, there were plenty of questions. Why did they choose to kill him just as things with him and Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) were going well? Why was Peter (Wes Ramsey) the one who did it?
Shortly after his exit from General Hospital, Roger Howarth spoke out. He revealed that Franco was dead, but he wasn’t planning to leave the ABC soap.
He would be returning but as another character. Immediately, fans thought it would be Todd Manning, as he had briefly appeared in Port Charles and would have a connection that was already clear.
Why won’t Roger Howarth be Todd Manning?
Unfortunately, Daytime Confidential revealed that ABC executives nixed the idea of having Roger Howarth resume Todd Manning’s role. It likely had to do with Todd’s backstory about being a rapist. His time in Llanview was clouded with constant reminders of what he did to Marty Saybrooke (Susan Haskell). The rape storyline was a big deal, and ABC didn’t want to open up that can of worms.
It is unfortunate that Roger Howarth won’t be returning as Todd Manning, though. There were several other Llanview characters who could have been interesting to see in Port Charles.
He had already been introduced to the canvas, so there was an easy in. So many possibilities with Todd could have amped up the drama, but instead, viewers will get another new character on General Hospital.
When will Roger Howarth return to General Hospital?
During his time off, Roger Howarth has been doing cameos for charity. He is giving all of the proceeds to Feeding America and will continue to take orders for them until he starts back to work, or even after. Roger teased some of his General Hospital costars may appear in future messages.
Based on the timeline he gave last month, it appeared he would be back filming General Hospital next week. April 8 or 9th were the dates intially noted. That would place him back on the canvas just in time for May sweeps. The show typically tapes four to six weeks in advance, leading to several episodes in the can.
With the possibility of Todd Manning coming back, who Roger Howarth will play remains unknown.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.