Robin Mattson Explains Why General Hospital Had To Stun Fans And Recast Heather Webber
The psychedelic drug LSD has been around since 1938. It can cause hallucinations for hours, and long-term use can even exacerbate already-existing mental illness, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation. On "General Hospital," the villain Heather Webber often used LSD on her enemies but accidentally ingested a massive dose, the result of which drove her insane and landed her in an institution, per Soap Hub. When Robin Mattson took on the role of Heather Webber in 1980, she became a hit with the fans by pushing the bounds of Heather's depravity for decades, per Soaps in Depth. Fans tuned in for years to see what new evil Heather would come up with.
When Mattson last played Heather, the malefactor had kidnapped Sam McCall's (Kelly Monaco) son, Danny, which was thwarted by mob enforcer Jason Morgan (Steve Burton). She later tried to kill the girlfriend of her son, former serial killer Franco Baldwin (Roger Howarth), but he turned the tables on his dastardly mother, stabbing her and burying her. Heather survived and after several more heinous deeds, she was committed to D'Archam Asylum. Recently, Heather was brought to General Hospital, albeit recast with Alley Mills in the role, per Michael Fairman TV, striking fear in the hearts of several characters.
Fans have been curious about why Mattson was recast, and the actress spoke out about it on social media.
Robin Mattson explains her health issues
Heather Webber, the fan-favorite villain and bane of many a citizen in Port Charles for decades on "General Hospital," had been played by actress Robin Mattson since 1980. Recently, the show recast the character with Alley Mills and Mattson explained why that happened on Instagram. She explained, "As nice as is to be missed and so many of you have wondered what happened to me, I just want to let you know that I've been recovering from my knee surgery and today I'm going to have hip replacement surgery. Thank you all for your love and support! Looking forward to a fast recovery! Love Robin."
Fans responded overwhelmingly with wishes for Mattson's good health and fast recovery with one replying, "Get well soon and most importantly Thank you for giving your Fans an update." Regarding the recast with Alley Mills, one reply stated, "THERES ONLY ONE HEATHER WEBBER AND THATS YOU ROBIN. GET WELL SOON." Another fan replied with a heartfelt statement, "Wishing you all good things! I'll be thinking about you and hoping everything goes smoothly and that you have a fast recovery. You mean a lot to us old soap fans! We Love You."
On the Soaps She Knows message board, fans discussed Heather's obsession with BLTs from Kelly's diner in Port Charles. One of Mattson's fans lovingly referred to this in replying to her Instagram post writing, "I hope someone is getting you a BLT from Kelly's."