General Hospital fans have been missing some heavily important characters lately, one of which is Jacklyn Zeman's Bobbie Spencer. Several viewers have taken to social media to express their displeasure with the character's absence, prompting the actress to weigh in on the discussion.
In addition to several tweets thanking individual posters for their support, the New Jersey native admitted that she misses GH just as much as fans miss her alter ego -- but it's up to the powers that be to give Miss Barbara Jean more screen time.
"Future plans for Bobbie will be determined by our writers," she wrote. "I do miss my #GH family. Thank you to all for your kind + generous thoughts."
Fan frustration over Bobbie's lack of screen time comes in conjunction with Genie Francis (Laura Spencer) being cut from the ABC soap opera. As previously reported, executive producer Frank Valentini approached Francis in late 2017 and is said to have informed her that she would appear in only about a dozen or so episodes in 2018. Francis was reportedly devastated by the decision and refused to agree to appear so infrequently.
Though the controversial choice to drop Francis to recurring is one GH likely hoped would quickly be forgotten, fans haven't rested in expressing their disapproval. In fact, some are using the Francis debacle in addition to Bobbie's recent on-screen absence to make it clear that viewers want to see their soaps' historical characters. One even went so far as to pull NBC's Days of our Lives -- currently up in ratings and being applauded for its head writer, Ron Carlivati's use of show history and veteran actors -- into the discussion.
"Hey, Jackie, I know you're aware of the current outpouring of support for Genie. We love our legacy actresses, honey, and that includes you," the fan wrote. "We'd love to see more Bobbie and the vets get more front burner storylines like they do on #DaysOfOurLives"
Thank you, Christine. xo https://t.co/irrn0h6AgT
- Jackie Zeman (@JackieZeman) February 25, 2018
Another fan made note of the fact that neither Zeman nor Francis appeared in the ABC soap's 14,000th episode last week, adding that with the show's 55th anniversary quickly approaching, it would be nice for the series to give more of its legacy characters important, front burner storylines.
"This cannot be happening!" the fan wrote to Zeman. "Both you and @GenieFrancis should have been front and center in the 14,000th episode. With the 55th anniversary rapidly approaching, #GH should be giving its longtime beloved actors meaningful stories.
This cannot be happening! Both you and @GenieFrancis should have been front and center in the 14,000th episode. With the 55th anniversary rapidly approaching, #GH should be giving its longtime beloved actors meaningful stories.
- GH Fan (@ghfan27) February 25, 2018
Both Zeman and Francis joined GH in 1977 and have played their characters on-again, off-again since that time. Francis tweeted in celebration of the soap's 14,000th episode, writing that the series has "touched the lives of millions."
What do you think about the way GH writes for its legacy characters? What kind of future storylines would you like to see written for Bobbie? Which other GH characters would you love to see given more screen time? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
