General Hospital's Finola Hughes Recalls Her Favorite Story After Nearly 40 Years As Anna
Espionage stories have always thrilled audiences, whether it be in books, film, or television. When executive producer Gloria Monty changed daytime TV by adding action to "General Hospital" in 1978, no one could have predicted that characters created under her watch would still be relevant over 40 years later. Finola Hughes started playing superspy Anna Devane on the sudser in 1985, and she is still going strong. While Anna started off as a duplicitous double agent for an enemy organization, her relationship with co-spy Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers) resonated with audiences. The two also had a daughter, Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), which helped to humanize the WSB agents, making them relatable to the fans.
One of Anna's most famous exploits was when Robin was kidnapped by the evil mobster, Mr. Wu (Aki Aleong) over a set of valuable black pearls that the girl inadvertently used as her doll's eyes. Anna and Robert split up ages ago, and she's now romantically involved with another former co-spy: Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart). In March, Hughes told "Good Morning America" that "GH" has had stories involving social issues and fantasy, explaining, "So you can kind of pick what you love about the show. And now, you know, in particular talking about fantasy things, right now we're dealing with the Ice Princess, which is a real callback to the 80s."
Hughes recently shared memories of her nearly 40 years on the show.
Robin's kidnapping was her favorite storyline
ABC's "Nightline" presented a special segment discussing "General Hospital," focusing on the show's longevity, with Finola Hughes being a large part of the video.
"Being able to say really dramatic lines is why I get up in the morning," Hughes happily stated to host Stephanie Ramos. "I get to play someone who sees through everybody else, and who is pretty tough and pretty strong. As soon as I put on my outfit, I'm like, 'Ah. There she is,'" she explained. As Ramos reminisced about watching "GH" with her family, she asked Hughes why she thought the show has lasted 60 years. Hughes replied, "I think you just said it, Stephanie. Because it's multi-generational and, you know, I hear so much from people that 'I used to sit on my grandmother's lap and watch it, and then I became a lifelong fan.'"
When asked what her favorite storyline was, Hughes stated, "My daughter [Robin, Kimberly McCullough] gets kidnapped, and I have to go looking for her," adding that in the scene where she found Robin, "We did it only in one take. It was just a really, for me, iconic moment because I remember being so full of emotion." The actress also noted that actor/singer Rick Springfield stood out as one of her favorite surprise "GH" guests to work with, stating, "[Anna] had a love affair with him which was lovely, and he's a sweet person."