General Hospital Exclusive Preview: Britt Comes Home to ‘Lots of Drama,’ Says Kelly Thiebaud

Now that Britt and Jason (Steve Burton) have survived their (mis)adventure at the Five Poppies, it’s time for the back-from-the-dead Dr. Westbourne to return to the Port Charles fold on General Hospital. Will it be a happy homecoming, or will Britt find that not everyone is willing to welcome her back with open arms? Soap Opera Digest got the inside scoop from Kelly Thiebaud (Britt), as well as a tease from Co-Head Writers Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten, about what lies ahead in Britt’s tale.

Picking Up The Pieces

When Britt saw Jason again in Croatia, it clearly pained her to be in close proximity to the man who had her heart, for a short time at least. Now that she’s out from under Pascal’s thumb and Jason will be more regularly in her orbit, how will Britt manage her emotions? “I think it’s going to be really hard for her,” Thiebaud says. “They have the kind of connection where no matter what they are going through, it’s really easy to just like each other.” But given how he hurt her the last time they were involved by dumping her to marry Carly, “She has to stay really mindful of what happened,” the actress observes. “It was a betrayal that happened, and Britt not being put in first place and not feeling like a priority … Britt deserved better than what she got. It can’t just be like, ‘Yeah, let’s get back together!’ But I do know and feel that Britt has very deep feelings for him, so we’ll see what happens — and how long she stays strong!”

Especially since Jason’s loyalty to Carly still runs deep. “There’s going to be a lot of tension there,” predicts Thiebaud on the subject of Britt’s eventual reunion with Carly. “A lot of tension! We’re not gonna be BFF, that’s for sure.” The actress just hopes that tension doesn’t turn physical. “I just don’t want to slap anyone,” she chuckles. I want those days to be behind Britt!”

You Reap What You Sow

Once back in her old stomping rounds, Britt will, of course, also have to face her mom, Liesl Obrecht, who has spent the last several years mourning her. “I love her so much and I’m so, so happy they brought Kathleen Gati back,” says Thiebaud of her on-screen mom. “She is such a light, and I don’t think they could have brought Britt back without Kathleen! I think the fans would have been so disappointed if she wasn’t there, so I’m really glad that that worked out.”

Britt’s decision to conceal her status in the land of the living from her mom is likely to create friction, though. Hints Thiebaud, “I mean, Britt never told her mother that she was still alive! So I think there is going to be lots of drama there. I think in a lot of ways, she’s going to have to work her way back” into the good graces of those she left behind, her mom included.

Which, for the actress, who is going through a tender period in her own life, was something she had to steel herself for before filming. “It’s kind of like art imitating art,” she explains. “There is a part of me that feels very similar to Britt, like rising from the ashes, you know? People thought she was dead and she’s rising from the ashes on the show, and me personally, with everything I’ve gone through in the last few years, I feel like I’m rising from the ashes. So, it’s interesting how the two things are kind of mirroring each other a little bit.”

While the doctor once not-so-affectionately referred to as “The Britch” had somewhat softened her hard edges by the time she seemingly died in 2023, the former hospital chief of staff wasn’t exactly the most beloved physician in the world. And from what GH’s head writers, Korte and Van Etten, say, it looks like Britt’s reunions with her medical colleagues will be a bit on the scratchy side. They tell Digest, “We can’t wait to see her do battle with Port Charles’s power players, among them are those who stepped up at the hospital in her absence — Elizabeth, Lucas, and Portia.”

Comin’ Around Again: Seeing Britt in the flesh will throw more than a few Port Charles citizens for a loop!Disney/Christine Bartolucci

She Moves In Mysterious Ways

Britt’s navigation of her interpersonal dynamics in Port Charles are only the tip of her storyline iceberg, though, as the mysteries driving her time in Croatia — who is she working for, and what was she working on in the lab? — do, of course, follow her home. “There is still so much story to tell,” declares Thiebaud. “We still have to explain how she’s alive! Honestly, when I heard what was coming up, I was amazed. So, I know that however it comes out and however it happens, it’s going to be amazing! It’s so creative. I’m so happy with what they came up with and honestly, kudos to Frank [Valentini, executive producer] and the writers, because it’s incredible.”

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