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‘General Hospital’ Spoilers: Steve And Jeff Webber To ‘GH’? Hayden Pregnancy Triggers Family Reunion

By Belynda Gates Turner
Published on: 08:50 PST, Jun 12, 2017

General Hospital spoilers and rumors tease that a Webber family reunion is in the works. One piece of confirmed casting news hints at patriarch Jeff Webber’s return, and a recent casting rumor now also points to his oldest child Steve Webber’s return to GH. With Hayden Barnes (Rebecca Budig) pregnant, there’s plenty of motivation to bring the rest of the Webbers back to Port Charles ASAP.

James DePaiva to Play Jeff Webber?

General Hospital spoilers from a recent GH promo video on Twitter showed showrunner Frank Valentini on the hospital set saying, “Hey GH fans. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the hospital….” The video cuts over to actor James DePaiva standing at the nurse’s station at the GH hub while reading a chart. GH captioned the tweet, “Is that Jimmy DePaiva?!? Watch #GH daily and you might figure out what his TOP SECRET role will be.” James should be on our GH screens in just a few weeks.

Taken alone, the General Hospital spoilers video doesn’t prove anything. However, since Jimmy DePaiva was on the hospital set at ABC, that hints he’s a doctor. There’s also the fact that he’s the right age to play Hayden and Elizabeth Webber’s (Rebecca Herbst) father. James DePaiva is 59, and Richard Dean Anderson (ex-Jeff Webber) is 67. That’s pretty darned close. For those new to GH, Jeff Webber is a doc who has spent much of his career doing charity work abroad.

Cameron Mathison to Play Steven Webber?

A hot new General Hospital casting rumor cropped up that former All My Children actor Cameron Mathison (ex-Ryan Lavery, AMC) might come to GH. Three pieces of information fuel the fire of this steamy GH rumor. First, Cameron himself did an interview with this week’s Soap Opera Digest, and when asked if he would come to General Hospital, the actor said, “I’d love to.” Second, GH showrunner Nathan Varni said in a recent interview that he’d use actors from AMC and OLTL.

Last, both the Webber men were on a possible General Hospital spoilers casting list that leaked on Facebook. Reportedly, GH is looking to pull up their sagging ratings by bringing back some characters attached to legacy families. Also, the Webbers are nothing if not legacy! With ratings so low that co-head writer Jean Passanante is hitting the door, it’s obvious GH needs to shake up things to regain its footing lest it winds up on the cancellation heap where so many soaps have already gone.

Webber Family Reunion in the Works

General Hospital spoilers say Hayden has a serious talk with her half-sister Liz on Thursday, June 15. Although Hayden spilled the pregnancy beans last week to Laura Spencer (Genie Francis), she swore her ex-mother in law to secrecy. However, Hayden finally comes clean to her sis this week, and General Hospital spoilers tease that’s the catalyst that prompts Liz to contact their far-flung family and urge them to reunite in Port Charles to support her pregnant sister. Plus, Jeff doesn’t know his other daughter.

Remember from recent General Hospital history that Naomi Dreyfus (Robin Riker) was paying Heather Webber (Robin Mattson) to buy her silence about Hayden’s paternity. Hayden grew up thinking she was the child of Raymond Berlin and Jeff never knew his affair with Naomi produced a love child. With Hayden now expecting his grandchild, it’s far past time for the doc to meet his other kid. So with Hayden rumored to have pregnancy complications, perhaps her biological daddy doc can help.

Cameron Mathison and Rebecca Budig’s Soapy Past

While General Hospital spoilers and rumors tease that Cameron Mathison might show up in Port Charles as Hayden’s brother, actor, and actress already have a shared past on All My Children. Rebecca Budig’s character on AMC, Greenlee Smythe, was twice married to Cameron Mathison’s character Ryan Lavery. After seeing their couple’s chemistry on All My Children, it would be interesting to see the two thrown into a different dynamic as brother and sister.

In addition to being past co-stars on All My Children, Mathison and Budig are close personal friends in real life, and she calls him “Cammy.” There’s little doubt that Rebecca Budig and Cameron Mathison would love working together again, but bringing Ryan Lavery over to General Hospital makes no sense. If the GH casting rumor about Mathison is true since Budig isn’t Greenlee, why bring him as his AMC character? A Steven Lars Webber recast role for Mathison would be preferable to most fans.

The Wacky Webber Family Tree

If you’re newer to General Hospital or don’t know your history, Jeff Webber (then Richard Dean Anderson) came to the ABC soap in the 70s. Jeff is the son of founding GH character Dr. Steve Hardy. Jeff cheated on his wife with lunatic Heather whom he later married. Heather is mom to Steven Lars Webber (then Scott Reeves). For a long time, Jeff didn’t know Steven survived since Heather sold their son after Jeff insisted she must have an abortion.

Later, on General Hospital, Jeff got Steven back and hid him away from crazy Heather. In the early 80s, Jeff married a woman named Carolyn who is mother to Liz Webber and her full sister Sarah Webber (then Sarah Laine). Sarah is a few years older than Liz. At some point during the marriage, Jeff had an affair with Naomi Dreyfus who gave birth to Hayden but hid the truth from Jeff and Hayden. It was last year on GH when Hayden and Liz found out they’re sisters.

With Hayden now pregnant, a Webber family reunion is long overdue. Do you think James DePaiva’s mystery role is Jeff Webber? Would you love to see Cameron Mathison do a guest arc on General Hospital as Steven Webber? Check back for more GH news and other new General Hospital spoilers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3oSdlIYqpg

[Featured Image by Jemal Countess/Getty Images]

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