General Hospital Shocker: Kelly Thiebaud Leaving as Britt
It looks like General Hospital‘s Brad won’t have his best gal pal to lean on much longer. A source at the soap confirms to us that by the end of the year, newly-minted Daytime Emmy winner Kelly Thiebaud will be exiting as scheme queen-turned-top doc Britt Westbourne. If there’s a bright side, however, it’s that fans of the actress will be able to watch her in primetime as she returns to Station 19 this fall.
There’s no word from ABC as to exactly how or when Thiebaud’s alter ego will check out of General Hospital aside from the fact that Britt will exit before we all start trying to remember to write 2023 instead of 2022 on our checks.
Longtime viewers will recall that Thiebaud first joined the show way back in 2012, when she was introduced as a love interest for Dr. Patrick Drake, the dreamy doctor played at the time by Jason Thompson (now Young & Restless‘ Billy). Thanks to the character’s manipulative ways and caustic attitude, she quickly earned the nickname “the Britch.”
Britt pretty much threw herself at — or, as seen here, in front of — Patrick.
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
Those same viewers will also recall that this isn’t the first time the actress has left the soap. In 2014, she left to pursue other opportunities but continued to make the occasional guest appearance before finally rejoining the canvas full time in the fall of 2020.
Speaking of “other opportunities,” one which came her way was the role of temptress Eva Vasquez on Station 19. In true Britt style, the character was married to one firefighter but sleeping with another. And when that soapy primetime drama returns to ABC for its sixth season this fall, Eva will be back on the scene.
More: Check out these gorgeous General Hospital cast shots!
ABC teases of Thiebaud’s Station 19 return: “Misery loves company, and Eva finds solace with someone from her past.” Unless we miss our mark, that “someone” is likely to be Grey Damon’s hunky fireman Jack, who was certainly wallowing in misery during last year’s season finale, having made a shocking discovery about his family which propelled him to seemingly quit his job and leave Seattle.
Will Thiebaud’s Eva wind up playing doctor with fireman Jack?
Credit: ABC screenshot
As to Britt’s future, while the character was diagnosed as having the markers for Huntington’s Disease earlier this year, no word as to whether the soap will actually be killing the character off. Timing-wise, Thiebaud’s departure isn’t ideal given that the show has been working to build a romance between Britt and new-guy-in-town Cody.
Britt would rather chat with a horse than Cody… and look, there just happens to be one available!
Then again, viewers haven’t particularly taken to the pairing — even we suggested she’d be a better fit with someone else on the canvas — meaning Thiebaud’s exit might give the writers a chance to spin Kelly’s alter ego in a new direction.
As we wait to see exactly how Britt is written off, take a look at all the other exits to rock General Hospital of late.
