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Soaps.com Survey Results: Character Returns! Thursday, May 22 2008

Soaps.com wants to know what our readers think about their favorite soaps. Like you, we're fans of the daytime dramas and we think that your opinions should be important to the powers that be! Tuesday April 29, 2008, we asked fans of all 9 soaps, "Who would you want to see return to your favorite soap?"

In our message boards, we read a lot of discussions from posters wishing that their favorite past characters/actors would make a return, even years after they've been gone from the show, even after they've been killed off and yes, we miss them even in death.

We asked you all to participate in our poll and we have to say that the results, for the most part didn't surprise us. How about you?

We asked who you'd like to see return to All My Children and the majority of votes pointed toward Leo du Pres, who originated the role of Josh Duhamel, who we all saw from 1999 - 2002. He fell to his death at that point, but he's still very much missed. Hey, we are talking about soaps here. It could happen! Our second place runner up for the show is Jenny Gardner, who was portrayed by Kim Delaney. Jenny was a part of a highschool supercouple 'Greg and Jenny', in the early 1980s. Last we saw Jenny, she was a ghostly apparition. It's been years, and years and we're not exactly surprised that the fans chose her. Soap fans are notorious for being loyal to their favorite supercouple, even when both parties have passed on.

We asked, "Who would you like to see return to As the World Turns the most?" This poll was unusual, since the winner of the vote is already a part of the cast. We'll explain. Lucinda Walsh, played by Elizabeth Hubbard, used to be one of the main characters we loved and sometimes loved to hate, in Oakdale. Lucinda is a popular character, but has been pushed to the back burner. Though we've no idea why and we assume nothing, we still miss her presence, so we included her in our poll and she won! Second runner up is Craig Montgomery, played recently by Scott Bryce, who originated the role back in 1982. What can we say about Craig? We love him, we hate him, we love him again….and now he's gone, after reprising his role only the year previous, and we miss this devious devil!

Next in line, we asked fans of The Bold and the Beautiful, "Who would you like to see return to the show the most?" We had a tie! Both Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan) and Macy Forrester (Bobbi Eakes) share the number one spot. Deacon was around B&B from 2000 to 2005. Even though he was a manipulator and part of one of the many the incestuous relationships that happen on this top rated show, (Having a relationship with Bridget Forrester and an affair, resulting in a child, with Bridget's mother, Brooke … Oh my!) Deacon is a fan favorite! He's been entangled romantically with most of the female population; he left town, a broken hearted man. Macy, on the other hand, was loved by all. Incidentally, she was also married to Deacon, who was a fellow recovering alcoholic at one point. But let's back up a little. Bobbi Eakes originated this role in 1989. She returned on and off to the show, trying to find love and peace with Thorne Forrester and constantly having to prove herself worthy to the Forresters, who figured she was just like her mother, Forrester adversary, Sally Spectra. Of course as time went by, Macy went through all of the normal soap opera twists and turns, suffering a fatal car accident, returning from being presumed dead, turning to the bottle after husband Grant passed away from cancer, and having a chandelier fall on her, causing her severe injury and coma and eventually 'death'. You know… the usual!

Moving on, we asked you who you wanted to see return to Days of Our Lives the most, and you were loud and clear… You miss Vivian Alamain (Louise Sorel) & Ivan Marais (Ivan G'Vera) the most! We added them as a pair, because you simply can't have one, without the other! We saw Viv in 1992. Ivan was her sidekick who hung on her every word. Vivian Alamain always had something up her sleeve. Charged for kidnapping, suspected of foul play in the death of nephew Lawrence's fling, Lisanne, she lied, manipulated and then some! We miss that and we miss this duo, who provided a comical relief that we've never seen since, despite some pretty fun-loving characters we've seen. The other most missed character from Days is Shawn Brady, played by Jason Cook. Fans miss this cutie, who left the show when his contract expired in 2006. He was and still remains one popular character! Shawn Brady and Belle Black were childhood sweethearts who, long after the original portrayers, Jason Cook and Kirsten Storms left, married and had baby Claire. Shawn is the son of supercouple, Bo and Hope. After falling for Belle in high school, he helped out classmate, Jan Spears cover up a pregnancy as a result of a rape, by claiming the baby was his. This put things on hold with Belle and ruined their relationship for some time to come. Eventually, the truth came out and Belle and Shawn had other issues involving Belle lying for her mother, Marlena, who was the Salem Stalker. By the time the two were ready to reconcile, Shawn was held captive by nutter, Jan Spears, and once he was freed, Belle had already fallen into Philip Kirakis's arms, thinking Shawn left her for good. Many ups and downs would come for the couple, and Shawn would fall for and marry Mimi. During their tumultuous relationship, Jason left the show and Brandon Beemer took over. 'Shelle' did get together and rode off into the sunset, thankfully, for the fans, but it was a long road until this happened and some fans still preferred Cook's Shawn Brady.

We enter Port Charles, and ask fans who they would like to see return to General Hospital the most? While we're finishing up the subject of Jason Cook, fans should be happy to know that he is coming to Port Charles and will be working closely with Maxie (who played Belle Black for years!). That being said, I think we can all guess who was 'nominated' as most wanted to return to GH… Laura Spencer (Genie Francis)! Laura was one half of the very first supercouple, "Luke and Laura". Life was anything but dull for Laura, who originally thought her parents were Jason and Barbara Vining. It turns out that Dr. Lesley Williams was her mother, but Laura was believed to have died at birth. As a teen, she accidentally killed David Hamilton when he told her that he loved her mother, not her. She was raped by none other than the man she'd eventually fall in love with, Luke Spencer, in 1979, she was arrested but found not guilty for the death of Theresa Carter, she had a mental breakdown and suffered catatonia and we've since seen her for a brief few months until she slipped away from us again in 2007, but not before renewing her wedding vows with Luke, in a wedding reminiscent of their first! She's an all time favorite and we think that hands down, every GH would love a Laura return. A permanent one! Brenda Barrett, who played Vanessa Marcil, is our second runner up of who fans would like to see back on GH most! Rumors are abundant about a possible return and have been for a year now! Marcil originated the role in 1992 but wasn't always on canvas. We saw her through her marriage to Jasper and Jason, we were there for her fling with Sonny, we cried as she suffered a mental breakdown during a photo shoot and was found guilty for the murder of Alcazar. Of course, we all know how that ended up with her innocence! Brenda's spark catches us and though the show may not have a place for her, we can safely say that almost everyone who has seen her in action would love to see her return, even briefly! I mean, we want to know what she's been up to in Europe all these years!

On to the longest running soap opera, Guiding Light and who you said you wanted to see return the most! Drum roll please… Philip Spaulding! Were you thinking of Jonathan Randall? He's our second place winner! Philip has been around longer and because of this, he has more fans. Philip wasn't your typical Spaulding. He was adopted by Alan Spaulding and his first wife, Elizabeth. Grant Aleksander was the third actor to portray the role and by far the most memorable. It was in 2004, at the Cooper restaurant, "Company", that he was shot "dead". Of course, this is soapland, and actors don't always meet their demise, even if we're watching closely! The year after, Alan had visited an alive Philip, and we're still not 100% positive if he's the one who had been sending threatening letters, taunting a select few of his various ex-wives, Beth, Harley and Olivia. During his younger years, it was all about Beth and Philip, Beth then played by Judi Evans (ex-Bonnie/Adrienne, Days). What can we say about Philip's personality? He was a volatile man who got into fights in prep school, assaulted friend, Rick Bauer, took control of father's business, Spaulding Enterprises, Assaulted Blake, faked his own death, stole a corpse, faked insanity, assaulted Edmond…. Are you seeing a pattern? But we love Philip. Philip's a loyal friend, for the most part; his all-consuming love for Beth made the ladies love him. We can't let go of this guy! Jonathan Randall (Tom Pelphrey), is another character that fans absolutely adore! Reva and the now deceased Prince Richard Winslow's son, Jonathan grew up as royalty. When he came to Salem, he was intent on finding Sandy Foster, who had assumed his identity. Part of getting back at the impersonator, meant that he seduced his own cousin, Tammy, as part of his revenge. Ironically, it was Tammy who killed Sandy and she and Jonathan fell in love, despite their family relation! After some crazy times during their courtship, they wound up together, until he was arrested for arson. Later, he had a one night stand that conceived baby Sarah, with Lizzie, and a fake marriage to follow that put a strain his relationship with Tammy. Are you still with me? Tammy was the love of his life, though she died soon after in a hit and run that Alan had arranged to kill Jonathan. Horrible times, fans were a sobbing mess. Skipping right through, Jonathan faked his death, (we can't blame him) came back to life and we last saw him in March, driving away from Springfield. This in soapland means he can return at any point, down the road!

All those Llanview lovers told us they wanted to see Evangeline Williamson (Renee Goldsberry) return to One Life to Live. This fan favorite was with us from 2003 to 2007, but this articulate and strong willed lawyer won over our hearts with her loyalty. She had relationships with hotties John, (who broke her heart) and Christian; she was kidnapped by the Killing Club Killer. She suffered temporary blindness (Only in soaps!) and recently went into a coma. That has to be the worst thing for a soap actor. Will she return? Ever? Fans hope so! If not her, than the fans sure told us they'd love to see Kevin Buchanan (Dan Gauthier) back onscreen! Who doesn't want all the hotties to stay on the show? Kevin has been with us since 2003. He endured some crazy times. His college years were unkind to him - after all, it was then that he was falsely accused of raping Marty Saybrooke. He fell for Grace, who immediately died in a drowning accident; he fell for his brother's wife, Kelly Cramer, eventually married her and through an unhealthy relationship built on lies these two finally found peace by moving to London England to make a fresh start. This means they show certainly has the ability to bring on a return!

Strolling right over to Harmony, we asked fans who they would like to see return to Passions the most. Fans are dying to get Fox Crane, played by Justin Hartley, to return to the show. He was our second "Fox", and what a fox! He's the most memorable to fans and is the son of Julian and Ivy. He was linked to beauties such as Theresa, Whitney, Kay, Siren and Esme… Speaking of Whitney, she slid into the second place slot as the most requested resident to return to Harmony. Created and played by Brook Kerr from 1999 to 2007, Whitney had her fair share of trials and tribulations. Though her father would’ve preferred her to devote her life to a career in tennis, Whitney found herself competing with her sister Simone over Chad! However, when the possibility that Chad could be her half brother came to light, Whitney ran away to a convent for fear she’d ‘kept it in the family’! After it was proved that Whitney and Chad were not related, the couple married, but shortly after Whitney got the shock of her life when Chad had an affair with Vincent! Vincent tried to kill Whitney, but Chad save her, but just when the couple began to ‘reconnect’, Chad was killed and Whitney ultimately left Harmony behind. Because Whitney and Timmy (Josh Ryan Evans) practically tied, we wanted to take a moment to honor Timmy. Though he is gone, he's missed dearly and will always be remembered as Timmy, the living doll.

Making our final travel stop in Genoa City, Wisconsin, with so many departed ones to choose from, we were curious to know who you most wanted to return the drama of the The Young and the Restless. By a landslide, and clearly with many still reeling over her death, Drucilla Barber Winters (Victoria Rowell) came in as the most requested return! Though Dru blew into town as a runaway, throughout the years she became a world-renowned model, wife and mother who was loved by many. It was her feisty side that ultimately led to her untimely death while standing up for her best friend Sharon against her nemesis Phyllis Newman! However, in soapland, even falling over the steepest cliff doesn’t always guaranteed death – especially when there was no body found! Therefore this character is far from being put to rest! Our second runner-up, and most voted for a return, was another ‘down on her luck turned good girl’ Nina Chancellor McNeil (Tricia Cast)! Nina’s life in Genoa City started out in turmoil. Pregnant with nowhere to go, Nina was rescued by Cricket Blair and gained a best friend at the same time. However, after meeting up with Rose DeVille, who ran a home for unwed mothers, Nina found herself in a black-market baby scam and lost her baby to Rose forever! It wasn’t until Nina met Phillip Chancellor III that her world turned around – just to have it come crashing down on her again. They fell in love, had a baby boy then Nina was faced with Phillip’s death and the lost feeling it left her with. Throughout the years, Nina fell in and out of love until Cole Howard took her under his wing, and to his bed, giving Nina the sense that she could finally stand on her own two feet. With the help of another love, Tomas Del Cerro, Nina became a successful author and left town to follow her dreams. Nevertheless, with the revelation that Phillip was never the real son to Phillip Chancellor II, we still hold hope that one day Kay and Jill will find it necessary to contact Nina and fill her in all the happenings that clearly will affect her life, and maybe her finances as well, in a serious way!

Soaps.com wants to thank everyone for taking part in our latest survey! We hope the soap Gods are listening and have our fingers crossed that they’ll one day resurrect some of these characters for good!