I’d known that the producers had offered Stephen Nichols a job on General Hospital, but I was sworn to secrecy! The negotiations were so top secret; Stephen wouldn’t even tell me if he’d been hired. The fans started speculating in cards and letters. The magazines started speculating in print. Then last week, while standing in the grocery checkout line, I froze before dozens of old pictures of me and Stephen. The banner headlines read: “Stephen Nichols Joins General Hospital! – Will this affect Katherine and Mac?”, “Patch and Kayla Reunited! How GH Stole This Couple From Days!”, “Find Out How GH Re-Teamed Days Most Beloved Supercouple!”
This week, every passerby calls out: “Hey I hear Stephen Nichols is coming!” And then the news even broke on the internet! Finally, I went to Wendy Riche, producer of GH, who says, “Oh yeah, we hired him. I forgot to tell you…”
I’m such a person of the moment and so absorbed in what I’m doing right now, that I hadn’t given it much thought. I’ve never been one to live in the past, and ‘Patch and Kayla’ does seem like a lifetime ago. But talk about pressure! The supercouple of the Eighties will be a tough act to follow. In fact, their wedding is still the highest rated episode of Days of our Lives’ entire 30 year history.
I don’t really ponder the future. Since Katherine and Stephen’s characters are completely different, with a totally new storyline, will it work? I’m not sure whether what Patch and Kayla had will ever be duplicated. But now, since Stephen and I are on the same show, at least there’s a chance. I don’t know what the producers plan for Stephen (he may know but he’s not telling!). I heard he and I will be together eventually, but not right away. It’s likely he’ll come between me and Mac at some point.
Personally, I’m thrilled for Stephen. I know he’s happy and excited to be on GH. Matt Ashford, Wally Kurth, Steve Burton, Lynn Herring, and Genie Francis were all on Days and know Stephen will be a great asset to GH. And frankly, he plays a terrific bad guy.
He and I always have good chemistry. We rehearse a lot, we give a lot, and we really know each other. On Days, I rarely did a scene with anyone else. So if GH puts us together, the question is not will it be the same, but will it be as good?
Our characters are different. Kayla was so good she reformed Patch, a bad boy with a good heart. On GH, Stephen will undoubtedly be naughty, and frankly, I’m not that well-behaved either! Speculation is rampant. Some fans want to relive the Steve-Kayla-Jack triangle. Some are sure we’ll spoil the Patch and Kayla memory. With so much publicity, so much speculation, so much pressure, I’m getting a sinking feeling. This could either be the coup of the century or the biggest flop in Daytime!
Yikes! Let’s just hope that GH does it right!
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