Two years ago, Kelli Giddish (Di Henry) took All My Children by storm. Her character was revealed - or rather believed - to be the supposedly-dead Dixie Martin. But that storm quickly fizzled and Giddish's character was relegated to the back burner. Now, the show and the actress have agreed to part ways.
Giddish's addition to the All My Children cast in March 2005 was met with mixed reviews. Fans were initially skeptical of a newcomer being hired to tackle the role of Dixie Martin. Making the situation worse was the fact that Giddish is younger in real-life than Jacob Young, the actor who portrays the character who was supposed to be her on-screen son. However, despite having to suspend belief because of the age situation, viewers were quite taken by Giddish's on-screen performance. And so, apparently, were the actress' peers: Giddish received a Daytime Emmy pre-nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in 2006.
Upon the re-hiring of Cady McClain to portray the real Dixie, much of Giddish's storyline disappeared. Di's romance with Tad was scrapped, as was a subsequent romance with Aidan Devane. A storyline involving the mob and prostitution never really caught on with fans. The situation wasn't made any better when AMC opted to write off Dixie Martin, as Giddish's Di was hopelessly linked to the return, and ultimately death, of Dixie.
Now, as AMC's new writers start working their own magic on the show's stories, some of the show's underused characters are in the process of being pruned from the canvas. In what is being called by a show insider as a "mutual decision," Giddish and AMC execs have agreed to part ways.
Giddish will last air on September 19.