‘General Hospital’ Actor Jason Thompson Confirms His Departure, Patrick Drake Is Hanging Up His Stethoscope

General Hospital is losing one of their most well-loved leading men. A few days ago, there were reports that Jason Thompson has chosen not to renew his upcoming contract with the long-running ABC soap. His departure had not been officially announced by anyone from the GH camp until now.

The announcement has come from the man himself. Thompson took to his Instagram account on Friday to post his confirmation that he is indeed stepping away from the role that he has made his own for 10 years.

“I have made the difficult decision to bid farewell to a character I’ve loved playing for over 10 years. It was not an easy decision but I feel like it’s time to hang up Dr. Patrick Drake’s white coat and scrubs.”

He went on to thank Executive Producer of General Hospital, Frank Valentini, ABC executive Vicki Dummer, and Paul Lee, President ABC Entertainment Group. Jason also fondly acknowledged everyone from the directors, writers, and producers to his beloved co-stars. It has got to be tough to leave a TV home that has been your life for a decade.

Since Patrick Drake is such a fan-favorite character on General Hospital, Thompson took the time to especially thank the fans who have stuck with him through the years.

“General Hospital changed my life and I have you to thank for that. I am forever grateful for your love and support and for embracing me and this character all these years. I mean these words from the bottom of my heart: GH is family to me, and I will miss you all dearly.”

It is going to be a heartbreaking moment for fans to say goodbye, but it is looking like he will have quite the exit if all of the rumors are true. Robin Scorpio, played by actress Kimberly McCullough, is making her way back to the soap temporarily and is said to be taking the love of her life with her when Dr. Drake leaves Port Charles. Of course, nothing is written in stone yet, but it makes sense that if Patrick is leaving, then he and Robin should get back together. Their love story was adored by many fans over the years.

Of course, there could always be a recast for his character. There seems to be a shortage of good doctors at the hospital and if Dr. Drake leaves, who will do all the brain surgeries, as well as the other GH trauma? A recast may not go over very well with the fans. It doesn’t seem like anyone could take Jason Thompson’s place on the daytime drama.

What will the actor do now that he is hanging up his stethoscope at General Hospital? Rumors are going wild that The Young and the Restless is trying to lure him in. In fact, Celebrity Dirty Laundry said that other soaps are definitely interested in him as well.

Fans have already come out in full force to express their feelings on Jason’s exit from the soap. You can tell just how much he is loved by viewers. There is no word yet on when his last scenes will be, but you can bet that there will be more than just a few tears shed when the time comes to say goodbye.

Fans will also have to wait to see what happens with actress Brooklyn Rae Silzer, who plays the role of Emma Drake, Patrick and Robin’s daughter. She is an extremely talented young lady, so she will probably not have a hard time at all getting other acting gigs if she is also planning on saying goodbye to General Hospital.

It seems that soap actors and actresses end up eventually spreading their wings into other roles, whether it is another soap or even prime time TV. While it is always sad to see a favorite daytime actor leave, sometimes they end up coming back later on to reprise their character or to pop in for a visit once in a while.

Fans will just have to wait to see what develops in the future for Jason Thompson. He could just end up in a prime time drama, just like another former General Hospital star, Julie Berman. She has landed herself a juicy new role in NBC’s new show Chicago Med, as TV Line reported. You just never know where Jason will go from here.

Share your most favorite memories of Patrick Drake. What do you love most about him and the actor who plays him?

[Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]