Donna Svennevik/ABC

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — After months of speculation as to whether or not he will be returning to “One Life to Live” before the wraps production on its TV run in November, Terrell Tilford (ex-Greg) responds to the rumors. But do his comments lead to more questions than answers?

Tilford, who played the contract role of Llanview’s Dr. Greg Evans from 2009-10, teased fans about a possible “OLTL” return in a video posted on his Facebook page back in August, which was recorded while he was on the set of the Lifetime drama series “The Protector.” Two months earlier he told Soaps.com that “I’d love to make a final appearance before it goes off, especially considering some of the stuff coming up story-wise with my little sister (Destiny Evans, played by Shenell Edmonds) and all that. We’re talking about making it happen, so we’ll see.”

Further adding to the speculation, Tilford posted the following message on his Facebook page on September 11, “To Everyone who has asked if I’m returning to ‘OLTL,’ thank you for enthusiasm of me and the return of Dr. Greg Evans. The only truthful answer I will give for now is ‘NO’ so that if it is ‘YES’ then it will hopefully be a welcoming surprise… Stay blessed, amazing & know that I miss my ‘OLTL’ family, fans & friends…”

Around the same time, Greg’s name was mentioned on screen when Destiny admitted to her big brother Shaun (Sean Ringgold) that she had went to visit Greg in Statesville Prison to get his medical opinion on Matthew’s (Eddie Alderson) condition.

“One Life to Live” will cease taping for the show’s television run in November before transitioning to online-only distribution with Prospect Park. The soap will air its final ABC episode on Friday, January 13, 2012.

Tory Mussett

UPDATE: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 2:33 PM ET

Since we originally went to press early this morning, a “General Hospital” representative has since stated that Butler’s first appearance on the soap will be “sometime later this fall…,” although not necessarily contradicting our earlier report of October 24.

Stay tuned to Soap Opera Network as more  information on Butler’s “GH” role comes in.

PREVIOUS: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 2:58 AM ET

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — On Wednesday, September 21, daytime newcomer Nathin Art Butler tweeted to his followers (@nathinbutler) “I was welcomed into the family of ‘GH’ today. 1st day on set felt like 1st day of high school. Feel so blessed.” For those wondering what exactly he was talking about, on that day the actor revealed to the soap world that he had been hired to portray the contract role of Dr. Ewen Keenan, also known as “the mad Aussie therapist” on ABC’s “General Hospital. Soap Opera Network has since learned when you can expect to first see the actor, musician and digital photographer on screen.

According to sources, beginning with the Monday, October 24 episode of “GH,” look for Butler to begin interacting with Rebecca Herbst‘s Elizabeth Webber when the character finds herself encountering a mystery man (Butler’s Dr. Keenan). After describing his first day on set, the actor followed up that tweet with information on what his second week was like when pressed by a fan of the ABC drama series. “Started last week. Felt pretty special! Moonlit beach scenes this week. Dreamy character intro.”

Tweets to Stardom

• Monday, September 26 – Getting into tip-top shape for shirtless beach scene this week. Look out!
• Thursday, September 29 – My GH dressing room! Also happens to be my lucky numbers… http://yfrog.com/ntw4jmj
• Thursday, September 29 – Listening to Bruce Springsteen & keeping hydrated while waiting for my scene to come up
• Thursday, September 29 – I’m playing an Australian therapist Dr. Ewen Keenan & I will be acting with Becky. #GH #GeneralHospital
• Thursday, September 29 – #GH #GeneralHospital My first episode airs in a few weeks…

Butler began his professional acting career in 2007 courtesy of the TV movie “Rain Shadow,” a mini-series in which he portrayed the role of Shane Maguire. The actor subsequently appeared in the 2010 HBO mini-series “The Pacific” as a Young Private. In addition to acting in a number of films since then, Butler is also an avid film buff as he’s performed a number of behind the scenes jobs including performing duties as a Camera Operator, Cinematographer, and as an Associate Producer. On the beat.productions website, you can view a number of projects that Butler had some role in helping develop (both in front of and behind the camera) via video trailers and/or B-Roll.

Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) – Marc Berman of TV Media Insights has been doing an excellent job in reporting the overnight ratings data for ABC’s new daytime talk show “The Chew,” which replaced soap opera “All My Children” in the 1:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT timeslot on Monday, September 26. Since the talker debuted it has lost ground compared to “AMC’s” performance at the same point last year in television households. Now more than a week since its debut, Berman has revealed that the show is also losing ground in the all important Women 18-49 sales demographic compared to how “All My Children” had performed as well.

Per TV Media Insights, “The Chew” is averaging a a 0.9 rating/6 share among women 18-49 out of a 0.8/6 from the average ratings of its lead-in programming from the ABC affiliated stations (ie. syndicated fare such as “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” or local news) after six days on the air (September 26 through October 3, 2011). “All My Children” by comparison averaged a 1.1/7 in the female demo (using October 2010 averages), which was 18% better than how “Chew” is performing so far. In the less important Women 25-54 demographic, “Chew” is averaging a 1.1/7 out of a 1.2/8 from its local lead-in averages. “AMC” averaged a 1.5/9 (again using October 2010 averages). Based on these numbers “Chew” is down 8 percent from its local ABC programming lead-in and 27 percent from how “AMC” performed one year earlier.

Final first week ratings data, including total viewers, for “The Chew” won’t be available until Thursday.

AFTRA/Prospect Park

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — On Saturday, October 1, the National Board of Directors of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) met for the final time in 2011, as previously reported. One of the topics of discussion was Prospect Park and its transitioning of “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” to the web in January 2012. While exact details of the meeting are still unknown in that respect, a representative speaks to Soap Opera Network exclusively on where things stand at this time between the actors union and Prospect Park.

It has been nearly three months since Prospect Park announced that they had licensed the rights to “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” from the Disney/ABC Television Group with the intention of transitioning the soaps to the web beginning in January 2012. Since that time, AFTRA, better known as the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union, has been relatively silent on how the transition would be possible, until now. Soap Opera Network has learned exclusively that despite a number of actors from both “AMC” and “OLTL” signing on for the 2.0 versions of the soaps, talks between Prospect Park and AFTRA are still ongoing and that a deal between the actors union and the production company has yet to be signed.

Although “One Life to Live’s” Melissa Archer (Natalie Buchanan Banks), Kelley Missal (Danielle Rayburn), Sean Ringgold (Shaun Evans), Andrew Trischitta (Jack Manning) and Jerry VerDorn (Clint Buchanan), Ted King (Thomas Delgado), Michael Easton (John McBain), Kassie DePaiva (Blair Cramer) and Erika Slezak (Viki Banks) and “All My Children’s” Cameron Mathison (Ryan Lavery) and Lindsay Hartley (Cara Castillo) have already signed on despite no official deal between AFTRA and Prospect Park, an AFTRA rep tells Soap Opera Network “we are still in negotiations with Prospect Park. There is no agreement as of yet, but we are in discussion and when there is something final to announce we will announce it.”

Many of you have wondered why more cast members from “One Life to Live” have signed on to the web version of their show, pending a Prospect Park/AFTRA contract agreement, while not as many have signed on from the “All My Children” cast, but the AFTRA rep assures us that “we’ve been keeping the cast members of both shows advised as to the terms of the progress and the status of the discussions with Prospect Park.”

Actors from “All My Children,” which ended its television run on September 23, 2011, are left in limbo in the interim of a deal between AFTRA and Prospect Park, leaving many to seek new soap roles (Debbi Morgan, ex-Dr. Angie Hubbard now on “The Young and the Restless“), return to the soap that launched their careers (Jacob Young, ex-JR Chandler returned to “The Bold and the Beautiful“), or just deciding to take a much needed break (Michael E. Knight, ex-Tad Martin).

Smashwords.com

Nelson Branco, best known as the writer of the popular Suds Report column for website TV Guide Canada and for his contributions to magazine Hello! Canada is back! This time he’s Uncensored.

With Soap Opera: Uncensored, fans of Branco will notice the same writing style from his Suds Report, which includes an interview, translated comments on daytime moves, a breakdown of what’s happening on each soap and his uber-popular Blind Items.

For just $1.99 per issue, readers will receive 60 pages of news, notes and even an interview from “Venice: The Series” star Crystal Chappell where she explains why her online web soap is recasting roles played by Gina Tognoni (ex-Kelly Cramer, “One Life to Live“) and Wes Ramsey (ex-Sam Spencer, “Guiding Light“).

Snippet from Chappell Interview…

Despite winning an Emmy for Venice, Chappell still has to deal with the cruel realities of show business. But hey, what’s a soap without cast changes? My boyfriend Eric Martsolf has joined the Sapphic web serial as a recast. The ‘DAYS’ hunk will be replacing Wes Ramsey, who is currently in New York City shooting ‘The Playboy Club.’ “Eric’s wonderful in this,” compliments Chappell. “Eric’s always been supportive of the show. I had to shoot this character with or without Wes, so I sent the script to Eric, and luckily he agreed to do it. It was so much fun to see actors I love and respect in different parts. And you can talk to Eric about this — but this was a part he was born to play!” Also, don’t expect Gina Tognoni back as Sami. “She can’t do it,” sighs Chappell. “So I have to recast the role. I have someone in mind, but I can’t say who.”

Soap Opera: Uncernsored:
Inside the Issue

• INSIDE: Crystal Chappell Exclusive – Life After DAYS! Also: Why Venice is recasting Gina Tognoni and Wes Ramsey! Plus: Molly Burnett and Christian LeBlanc join Gina and Company!
• Exclusive: Major Daytime Emmy Award changes!
• Melody Thomas Scott VS. Sony: What really happened!
• Is James Scott leaving DAYS?
• Alleged Stalker Shocker Involving — Wait For It — John Driscoll!
• Andrea Evans’s Cancer Victory!
• Inside Dirty Soap! Is Eden Riegel AMC-bound?
• The truth behind Megan Ward’s GH firing!
• Drama at THE CHEW!
• Y&R’s Christel Khalil divorce drama!
• More turmoil at THE TALK?
• Four Decades Later: DAYS Chief Ken Corday finally gets a clue!
• Last week’s Soap Reviews; Next Week’s Preview Cheat Sheet! And every week: Blind Items!

If that wasn’t enough to get you interested, here are this weeks blind items from Soap Opera: Uncensored (as written by Nelson Branco):

—Which boring character is headed back to his old stomping grounds?
—Which super villainess is returning to her old show with a new-ish face?
—Expect some major firings very soon!
—Which despised star is cleaning up his or her a-hole act? But co-stars are dubious.
–Which soap actress in major trouble physically, mentally, and professionally?
—–Which new actor is as “gay as a handbag,” says one co-star, but the acting novice thinks he’s fooling people into thinking he’s straight?

To order your copy of the first edition of Soap Opera: Uncensored, click here.

© George De Sota/jpistudios.com

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — Talk about mommy issues. On Monday, October 3, Todd Manning (Roger Howarth) shot and killed his mother Irene (Barbara Rhoades) in cold blood after she threatened to blow up his family. But even death can’t stop Irene from making her son’s life miserable.

With Irene now six feet under, her reign of terror on the citizens looks to be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean that Todd will be living happily ever after. Beginning today, and lasting off and on through the coming weeks, the not so dearly departed will continue live on in her son’s mind as she continues to taunt and tease Todd in his fractured state of mind.

But will Todd be able to overcome his mother’s hold on him? Tune in to “One Life to Live” to find out!

Thomas A. Montalto/MontaltoPhotos.com

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — Two years after they were last seen in Llanview, Kathy Brier and Chris Stack are set to reprise the roles of Marcie and Michael McBain in the coming weeks as “One Life to Live” winds down production on its television run before transitioning to online-only distribution early next year.

As we first reported in August, the duo, who were last seen in November 2009 when Marcie gave birth to a son, Gabriel Thomas, are coming back to town this fall for a few months. Now Soap Opera Network can confirm their first airdate. Look for the husband and wife duo to return to Llanview on Tuesday, October 25, when they surprise Michael’s big brother John McBain (Michael Easton) with a visit.

Once back in town, fans can also expect Marcie to leave her brother-in-law with a little food for thought regarding a certain Llanview resident — and we’re not talking about Natalie (Melissa Archer) either.

Brier gave fans a sneak peek of her return back on August 30 when she tweeted a picture of herself getting into character in the show’s make-up room.

Nominated for a Daytime Emmy for her role on “OLTL,” Brier played Marcie Walsh McBain from 2002-2009. Chris Stack replaced Nathaniel Marston in the role of Michael McBain from 2007-2009.

Ruskin Group Theatre

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — Former “One Life to Live” star Brian Kerwin (ex-Charlie) has returned to his theater roots. Now through November 6, the actor will star in L.A. premiere of  “The Tragedy of the Commons.”

The play, which was written by Stephen Metcalfe, who also penned the screenplay for “Pretty Woman,” is presented by the Ruskin Group Theatre Company Kerwin portrays Dakin Adams, a man “whose loving, longstanding relationship with his wife appears increasingly fragile. The problems are exacerbated by the couple’s fear of their home losing its much-cherished ocean view.” It is directed by Dave Florek.

Regular performances run from September 30 through November 6, with showtimes of 8:00pm PT (11:00 pm ET) on Friday and Saturday evenings and 2:00pm PT (5:00pm ET) on Sunday evenings, at the Ruskin Theatre located at 3000 Airport Ave. in Santa Monica, CA 90405-6139. For more information and to order tickets, which are $25.00 each, click here. You can also call the theater at 310-397-3244. Office hours are 10:00 am to 6:00 pm PT Mondays through Fridays, and by appointment.

Nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards, Kerwin portrayed Charlie Banks on “OLTL” from 2007-2011.

Donna Svennevik/ABC

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — With nine of her co-stars already signed on to continue with “One Life to Live” when it moves to online production with Prospect Park early next year, fans have been wondering if Hillary B. Smith (Nora) might follow suit. However, the “One Life” vet notes that “things are up in the air” regarding her future with the soap.

In a new interview with TheaterMania, Smith, who will be appearing on stage in Bruce Graham‘s “Any Given Monday” beginning Thursday, October 6, talks about the show and teases about what is coming up for Bo and Nora.

“I can say that Nora and Bo (played by Robert S. Woods) will be leaving together when we stop taping on ABC, and that makes me very happy. As for the online venture, I am very excited that the show’s fans will have another venue, and I am sorry for ABC that they made this decision. But I don’t know what’s in store for me after Thanksgiving, when I stop shooting ‘One Life.’ Things are up in the air.”

As for what is next for Smith, the actress laments that “I am continuing to work on this Internet series, ‘Venice,’ which shoots in Los Angeles. I would love to do more stage work. And I have to admit it’s both liberating and scary not to know what’s next. Like a lot of actors, I actually love change and love reinventing myself.”

Click here to read the full interview, including Smith’s thoughts on how the character of Nora has changed since she joined the show in 1992.

Craig Sjodin/ABC

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — You can expect to see at least two reality show stars guest this fall on “The Bold and the Beautiful.”

Real life pilot Jake Pavelka, best known as the star of ABC’s 14th season of “The Bachelor” and season two of “Bachelor Pad,” will reprise his role as the pilot of the Forrester private jet in the coming days. Pavelka announced his reprisal via Twitter in late August.

Pavelka taped his scenes on Tuesday, September 1 and Friday, September 2, which are set to air Thursday, October 6, and Tuesday, October 11. The last time he appeared on “B&B” was in November 2010 alongside Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke Forrester) and Adam Gregory (Thomas Forrester). This time the former “Bachelor” will share scenes with Jacob Young (Rick Forrester) and Kim Matula (Hope Logan).

According to TV Guide, Texan model Cassi Colvin, best known for her short run on CBS’ most recent season of “Big Brother,” can be seen this fall on “B&B” when she plays a runway model named Cassi who is involved with Hope Logan’s “Hope for the Future” fashion line. Colvin taped her scenes on September 15, 2011, the day after she appeared on the “Big Brother 13” finale, and is set to air on Thursday, October 20.

Also look for “Big Brother 13″ winner Rachel Reilly and fiancé/sidekick Brendan Villegas to reprise their drink-serving roles on “B&B” this Halloween in scenes set to air October 28 and 31.