Leslie Charleson may retire soon from General Hospital

Leslie Charleson may be walking away from General Hospital

General Hospital fans have been wondering where Leslie Charleson is and if and when she will return to her beloved character. On Tuesday, March 15, it was reported that the 77-year-old soap vet was unavailable for taping, and actress Holly Kaplan portrayed Monica Quartermaine for one episode. Since that time Charleson has not returned and her character has only been mentioned once or twice.

Soap Opera Digest announced that Kaplan was only hired for that one episode and that Charleson would soon return to General Hospital but she did not. This raised suspicion for some viewers that the actress was unable to come back to her role. The soap vet tripped over her dog a few years back and injured her foot and Patty McCormick a popular child star took over as Monica.

When Charleson returned she had a hard time getting around and used a cane. She also began holding onto furniture and walking a bit unsteady but she was a trooper and continued as the head of the Q clan.

Is Leslie Charleson retiring?

The only news that has come forth in recent months about the actress is a report from a gossip magazine. In April The National Enquirer reported that Charleson is planning to retire after 45 years of playing Monica. The tabloid suggested that she will make her announcement on or around August 16 which is her anniversary date with the ABC soap.

No source was given for this information and the tabloid reporting it may be questionable for some fans. There are no other confirmations but this could be very true. Charleston has not been on General Hospital in close to five months and this is very telling in itself. Fans have wondered if she had COVID or was dealing with some other illness but no explanation has been given.

The fact that Kaplan only replaced her for one episode could be confirmation of what The National Enquirer reported. The intentions of the actress were to return but something stopped her and now she may be waiting until August to make her retirement official.

General Hospital will have to address the issue

General Hospital has moved on with the storylines as if this legacy character does not exist which caused some fans to believe they were hiding the news that Charleson was very ill. If instead, she is retiring she might want to take her popular character with her and not desire to see the role recast. Why else would so much time go by with silence on the matter?

The veteran actress is 5 years shy of a half-century with the ABC soap and that is a milestone in itself. If The National Enquirer is correct the ABC execs may have complied with Charleston’s desire to keep things hush hush until August.

The tabloid is known for sensationalism but there are times when its sources get things right and this just might be one of those times. If Charleson were coming backit stands to reason that she would have been on screen by now and if Monica is not going to be replaced fans might need to prepare for her to pass away after Charleson announces her retirement.

There is also the slim possibility that after the big news breaks about Charleson retiring the show will then recast Monica. These are all projections and fans can only wait until ABC or the actress herself makes an official announcement. Monica is in the Q family because she married Dr. Alan Quartermaine who gave her the mansion and she loves emphasizing the issue. Be on the lookout for General Hospital updates related to Monica Quartermaine and Leslie Charleson that give clarity on the situation.