Genie Francis has been fired from THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, according to a report by Soaps in Depth. Francis debuted on Y&R as Genevieve Atkinson in May 2011. Francis was apparently let go for budgetary reasons and may not be the last to go.
In an August interview with TV Guide Magazine after taking over as executive producer, Jill Farren Phelps addressed rumors that Francis would be one of the first to go.
"Genie and I had a wonderful talk when I came to Y&R," Phelps said, "and I think we're really quite fond of each other. She's a magnificent actress."
Former Y&R executive producer and head writer Maria Bell created the character of Genevieve for Francis.
"She spoke about how she was tired of sort of playing a victim and playing that character where things happen to them where they don't really make things happen," Bell said in an interview. "I wanted to create a character that really was much more a mover and a shaker."
GENERAL HOSPITAL executive producer Frank Valentini was asked during this summer's Television Critics Association (TCA) panel about Francis possibly returning to that soap as her iconic character, Laura Spencer.
"There is a rich history that GENERAL HOSPITAL has," Valentini said, "and there are many wonderful characters on the show right now, in addition to some people that we are interested in bringing back. At this point, unfortunately, contracts forbid us from even discussing that. So, I’ll just say we are a big fan of Genie’s and we wish her all the best, but I think we are pretty solid right now.:
What do you think of the news? Are you sad to see Francis leave Y&R? Would like to see her return to GENERAL HOSPITAL as Laura?
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