Steve Burton Will Return to ‘General Hospital’ After Exiting ‘Days of Our Lives’

Steve Burton will return to “General Hospital” after he was fired in November 2021 over his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The actor announced his return to the soap opera series during an ABC primetime special Thursday night that celebrated the show’s 60th anniversary.

“Happy anniversary, ‘General Hospital,’” Burton said as he walked through a doorway, flanked by cast members Laura Wright and Kelly Monaco. “Big things are coming to Port Charles.”

Wright, who plays Carly Corinthos on the television show walked through her door first, saying “You know what they say, when one door closes…”

Monaco, who plays Sam McCall, then walked through her door to complete the phrase with “Another door opens.”

Burton portrayed Jason Morgan on the ABC series since 1991, but as of Nov. 19, 2021, a tunnel collapsed on his character, who has been presumed dead ever since. His body was never found.

The actor confirmed his exit from the show over the vaccine mandate a few days later.

“I know that there’s been a lot of rumors and speculations about me and ‘General Hospital,’ and I wanted you to hear it from me personally. Unfortunately, ‘General Hospital’ has let me go because of the vaccine mandate,” Burton said in a video post. “I did apply for my medical and religious exemptions and both of those were denied­­, which, you know hurts, but this is also about personal freedom to me.”

Burton also announced Thursday that he is departing “Days of Our Lives.” He rejoined the series, in which he played Harris Michaels, over a year ago after reprising the role in the Peacock spinoff “Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem” and initially taking on the character when he joined the flagship show in 1988.

“Wow. Well, I just shot my final scenes here at ‘Days of Our Lives,’ and I just want to say thank you so much to the cast, to the crew, to ‘Days,’ everybody. It’s been amazing. I can’t believe it’s been a year already. So thank you so much to the fans. It’s just, I’m always so full of gratitude. So, thank you,” Burton said in a video posted Thursday.

“Stay tuned,” he added.

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