"General Hospital" fans have been waiting for an announcement from executive producer, Frank Valentini for a few hours now. He just released the big news, and it seems there are mixed feelings regarding the unveiling of a new character. It appears that Hillary B. Smith is headed to "General Hospital." She was a fan-favorite on the now-defunct ABC soap, "One Life to Live." Smith played Nora Buchanan, wife of Bo and mother of Rachel and Matthew.

Will she be Nora Buchanan?

In the video Frank Valentini released, it shows a judge and her calling Hillary B.

Smith, Nora Buchanan. It appears she will join "General Hospital" as her "One Life to Live" alter ego. This is exciting for fans who have missed the soap. It has been off the air for several years now. An air date has not yet been released, but generally when a new character is announced, there is a period of a few weeks before they air.

When "One Life to Live" went off the air, "General Hospital" brought some of the actors in their original roles over. Michael Easton came as John McBain, Kristen Alderson came as Starr Manning, Roger Howarth came as Todd Manning, and Kassie DePaiva made a guest appearance as Blair Kramer. When Prospect Park bought the rights to "One Life to Live," the characters could no longer be used.

The actors were brought back as new characters, some of them more than one!

Fans speculate more 'One Life to Live' characters will be on the way

It has been heavily speculated that now that the rights have been reverted back to ABC, plenty of familiar faces will make their way to Port Charles. Some fans aren't exactly thrilled with the news but others are very excited to see where this will go.

There are several characters fans have brought up, including Erica Kane and Dorian Lord. Several actors have also floated through "General Hospital," including Bree Williamson who played Claudette but was Jessica Buchanan on "One Life to Live." Also, Rebecca Budig was from "All My Children," but has been locked into a contract as Hayden for now.