Farah Fath

It's been a busy week for the casting departments. First up, Daytime Emmy winner Cady McClain. When McClain was let go from All My Children, where she played one of the soap's most popular characters ever, Dixie Martin, fans were outraged. There was talk that with the firing of the show's head writer, Megan McTavish, shortly thereafter, Dixie would find her way back from the dead. However, it seems the poisoned pancakes she consumed did the trick. Instead, McClain has been asked to reprise her other daytime role, Rosanna Cabot, on As the World Turns.

Rosanna has been mentioned on ATWT a lot lately (a sure sign that a presumed-dead soap-opera character is returning) despite lingering in a coma. Rosanna's former husband Craig ran her off the road last year, leading to her comatose state. Assuming she has regained consciousness, Rosanna will be back in Oakdale making Craig's life miserable. Craig is now played by Scott Bryce. I loved the scenes between McClain and the former Craig, Hunt Block, but the talented Bryce originated the role and will surely be a formidable acting partner for McClain.

In other East Coast casting news, Farah Fath has just landed a part on One Life to Live. It didn't take her long. Fath had just left Days of Our Lives a few months ago after eight years as Mimi Lockhart. Her character on OLTL has yet to be announced, but you can expect to see her onscreen some time in September.

Also on OLTL, Justis Bolding has been cast as Sarah Roberts, Tina and Cord's daughter. The newcomer (she had a bit part on Days as a hostess) begins June 14.

Now for some bad news. Scott Clifton is leaving General Hospital. If you're a fan of the young actor, you can take comfort in the fact that the comedically and dramatically gifted Clifton will likely find great success in Hollywood. He's also a singer-songwriter, so perhaps he is leaving to concentrate on his recording career. Whatever his aspirations, I'm sure he'll be successful.

Clifton instantly caught on as Dillon Quartermaine when he debuted on GH in 2003. He also earned three Daytime Emmy nominations. So, does his exit mean Dillon and former teen bride Georgie will reunite and ride off into the proverbial sunset? As far as I know, Lindze Letherman is staying on as Georgie. Clifton, however, will be gone by mid-June.

Congratulations to Eric Kahn Gale, the grand-prize winner of SOAPnet's SOAPU's user-generated content student competition. Gale attends the University of Michigan and has won US$20,000 to create his own Internet soap opera and a chance to pitch the project to Hollywood executives.

Gale's final submission, The Harder They Fall, chronicles the high-stakes world of celebrities and the paparazzi. He beat out the other competition, all of whom were asked to create a five-minute soap opera and a 20-second promo under the theme 'pop culture'. All behind-the-scenes footage and finalists' submissions are available for viewing at soap-net.go.com/specials/soapu/index.html.