Genie Francis returns to 'General Hospital'

Laura Spencer is coming home to Port Charles. It’s the news some “General Hospital” fans have been waiting for ever since it was announced in November that Genie Francis had been let go from her role on “The Young and the Restless.”

Entertainment Weekly broke the news today that Francis had made a deal to return to the soap she called home on and off from 1976 to 2008. According to EW, Francis will begin taping later this month and her first airdate will be Feb. 11. There are no details at this time for how long Francis will stick around Port Charles.

“General Hospital’s” producer Frank Valentini played a major role in the decision to bring Francis back. In an interview with EW, Francis said, “Frank is very persuasive, energetic, infectious and has a sense of fun, a positive-ness that makes you want to work for the guy. He assured me there was going to be nice stuff to play. I’m choosing to believe him.”

Francis did have one concern about her return. “It’s not for me to tell them how to run their show,” she told EW. “But my biggest concern was that there had to be a good reason for me to stay away from my family.”

What will that reason be? Tune into “General Hospital” weekdays on ABC to find out and in the meantime, hit the comments below. Are you happy Laura is heading home?