How Kate Mansi Felt About Switching From Days Of Our Lives To General Hospital
In the daytime television world, there are a lot of changing faces on the small screen, and many viewers are used to seeing soap opera stars make the switch from one daytime television series to another. Kate Mansi is no different, as she went from starring on "Days of Our Lives" as her character Abigail Deveraux to "General Hospital" as Kristina Davis when she replaced outgoing actor Lexi Ainsworth. The recast on "General Hospital" came as a shock to fans at the time because they didn't expect to see Ainsworth leave the hit ABC soap, nor did they expect to ever see Mansi in Port Charles.
However, Mansi isn't the only person who has gone from one soap to another, as stars like Greg Rikaart, Don Diamont, Kimberlin Brown, and even Steve Burton have gone from one hit daytime television show to the next over the years, too. While changing spaces and character faces seems to be the norm in the daytime television industry, Mansi opened up to Soap Opera Digest about how she felt about jumping from one soap to another, because there was actually a little controversy surrounding the sudden change on the small screen.
Kate Mansi on her General Hospital recast
Kate Mansi initially left "Days of Our Lives" after a five-year stint, but then returned, only to leave once more in 2020. So when it was announced that Mansi would be returning to daytime television in her new role as bisexual character Kristina Davis on "General Hospital," many fans were surprised only because she hadn't been on the canvas for so long.
However, Mansi did tell Soap Opera Digest in an interview that she felt grateful about the opportunity that she was given but also knew there would be some controversy about her role. That's because a lot of fans were left shocked when it was announced that Lexi Ainsworth would be leaving the role. Many "General Hospital" fans grew to love Ainsworth as Kristina, making it a little more challenging for Mansi to fill in her shoes. Similarly, Mansi was also recast on "Days of Our Lives" when she took over the role of Abigail Deveraux from outgoing actor Marci Miller. "I'm quite sensitive to the actors [and] I asked [executive producer Frank Valentini] to tell me broadly about the subject matter of what the storyline would be before I dove into any research," she said.
Kate Mansi spoke to Lexi Ainsworth before taking over as Kristina
In her same interview with Soap Opera Digest, Kate Mansi also said that her version of Kristina Davis was going to differ just a little bit from former "General Hospital" star Lexi Ainsworth's version of the character. She also said that she spoke to Ainsworth before taking on her new "General Hospital" role. Mansi explained, "I wanted to just make sure that she knew how absolutely adored she is by me and the cast and the fans, and that I would do my best to honor her work."
Ainsworth took to her Instagram account to let her fans know that after spending a decade on the show, it was time for her to move on for both personal and professional reasons. She explained that she had other projects in the pipeline as well. "I am currently working on writing my own story from my point of view which has been, thus far, cathartic and hopefully inspiring to other women. So, I look forward to sharing that with you guys when it is completed," the actor revealed.
That said, Ainsworth did hint that her soap opera days aren't over and that she might make a comeback to daytime television in the future. If anything, she could always head to Salem and pick up where Mansi last left off.