Franco (Roger Howarth) leaving General Hospital is a really big possibility. Just as November sweeps rolled in, so did another problem for Elizabeth’s (Rebecca Herbst) husband.
Viewers watched as Franco passed out at the Floating Rib.
After being examined at General Hospital, it was revealed that his tumor had returned. This time, Terry (Cassandra James) is worried that it may not be treatable.
Is Franco leaving General Hospital?
Roger Howarth is a special case for the ABC soap. He had a good run on the now-defunct ABC soap, One Life to Live as Todd Manning.
He transferred that character to Port Charles once OLTL was canceled, but that only lasted briefly. Frank Valentini is a huge fan of Howarth, which is how he landed Franco’s role to keep him in Port Charles and on General Hospital.
In fact, he is one of four characters who were moved over from One Life to Live, but only he and Michael Easton remain on the cast.
Earlier this year, there were rumblings that Howarth might not renew his contract. Typically, neither the actor nor the network comment on negotiations, but inside sources often leaks the information.
While nothing was made clear, the fact that he returned to Franco’s role following the three-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic is a good sign that he is in it for a while longer.
Will Franco survive the tumor?
At this point, it looks like the tumor storyline is a lead into a front-burner storyline for Franco and Elizabeth. They have stayed in the background for a while, but what better way than to kickstart more screen time?
This week, Franco will be honest with Elizabeth about the tumor returning. He begged Terry not to tell her during the initial hospitalization, but not being honest isn’t going to him any favors.
While the outcome remains unclear, this is likely just a stepping stone into another storyline for the couple. His fate remains unknown, especially if he begins to act in similar ways as before the tumor was removed the first time.
Nothing has been confirmed, but it looks probable that Franco isn’t leaving General Hospital anytime soon.
The storyline could drag on for months, and if that is the case, that gives the soap time to figure out where to go with it and if keeping Franco is the best route.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.