‘Baywatch’ star Kelly Monaco to exit ‘General Hospital’

Washington [US], August 26 (ANI): ‘Baywatch’ star Kelly Monaco is all set to leave the TV series ‘General Hospital’ after more than two decades, reported Variety.

She played Sam McCall in the longest-running serial.

The show was created by husband-and-wife, show writers Frank and Doris Hursley, who originally set the series in a hospital, in an unnamed fictional city. In the 1970s, the city was named Port Charles, New York. Initially, the show featured John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin, and both actors stayed with the show until they died in 1996 and 1991, respectively.

Monaco joined the serial in 2003 after appearing on the spinoff series “Port Charles,” where she played Livvie Locke from 2000 to 2003. ‘General Hospital’ presented Monaco’s Sam as a con artist striving to restore her family’s terrible fate. The character is the biological daughter of mob leader Julian Jerome (William deVry) and attorney Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn), as well as the unlawful adopted daughter of Cody McCall (Stanley Kamel) and Evelyn Bass.

Monaco appeared in over 2,200 episodes of ‘General Hospital’. and her work as Sam earned her a Daytime Emmy Award in 2006.

In August 2020, Monaco was briefly recast with Lindsay Hartley temporarily playing the role. Hartley later returned as the role in February 2020, and again in several episodes.

Monaco’s exit comes amid the return of several ‘General Hospital’ veterans, including Jonathan Jackson as Lucky Spencer. Emma Samms will reprise her role as Holly Sutton in early September, reported Variety.

Monaco’s first TV appearance was in the ‘Baywatch’ from 1997 to 1998. In addition to playing Susan on the show, Monaco served as Carmen Electra’s body double at times, as Electra was unable to swim. Monaco also has minor roles in the late 1990s films BASEketball, Idle Hands, and Mumford. In 2003, Monaco was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role in ‘Port Charles’. Monaco was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Sam McCall on ‘General Hospital’ in 2006.