General Hospital star to leave show after 21 years

Actor has starred in over 2,200 episodes of the beloved soap

General Hospital will lose one of its veteran cast members as Kelly Monaco is set to leave the show after 21 years.

The medical drama is the longest-running scripted show in American history, and celebrated its 60th anniversary last year.

Monaco plays Sam McCall, a rebellious spirit who arrives in town as a vindictive con artist and who has since matured into a private investigator over the years.

The 48-year-old actor has starred in the show since 2003, and is due to make her final appearance this Autumn according to Variety, after appearing in over 2,200 episodes.

Soap Opera Network was the first to report the news, and suggested that the decision had been made to “terminate” Monaco’s character.

Daughter of mob boss Julian Jerome (William deVry) and attorney Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn), McCall is conceived after a one night stand, after which she is placed for adoption.

Monaco received a Primetime Emmy nomination for her role as the character, in 2006.

Prior to joining the show, the Baywatch actor had starred on the General Hospital spin-off soap, Port Charles, where she played Livvie Locke – a character similar to McCall – from 2000 to 2003. When the show was cancelled, she was one of several cast members to migrate over to the main show.

Show has been running for over 60 years (Getty Images)

The soap has recently been plagued by tragedy after the murder of cast member Johnny Wactor who played Brando Corbin on the soap.

Two teenagers were charged with the killing of the 37-year-old. Wactor was shot dead in the early hours of 25 May near Pico Boulevard.

He and a coworker came upon a group of four men attempting to steal his car’s catalytic converter, which contains precious metals like rhodium, platinum and palladium, police said. The actor confronted them and was killed.

Monaco has played Sam McCall since 2003 (Getty)

Emmy-nominated actor Kirsten Storms, who plays Maxie Jones on the programme said she was “in a state of disbelief and complete sadness”.

“I don’t typically do posts like this, but Johnny was such a special person and it feels important to put these words out there,” she wrote on Instagram.

“Johnny was one of those rare ‘real individuals’ that you almost never come across... For some reason, we talked about the deep stuff. He was a safe space for those conversations and, in turn, he would talk about his life,” she continued.