( EW.com ) -- It 's the comeback that `` General Hospital '' fans have been waiting for : the Emmy-winning Genie Francis , who spent a little over a year on `` The Young and the Restless , '' will return to the ABC soap that made her a household name , EW has learned exclusively . Francis just closed a deal to reprise her role as Laura Spencer for the drama 's 50th anniversary this year . She 'll report to the sudser 's Los Angeles , California , set sometime later this month for a February 11 debut , which is actually 50 days before the series ' April 1 anniversary . It 's unclear how long Francis , a.k.a . Laura , will stick around Port Charles this time . Lance Armstrong agrees to Oprah Q & A . Speculation about Francis returning to GH fired up as soon as she left Y & R in November , where she played Genevieve Atkinson since May of 2011 . `` Everywhere I was being asked ! '' Francis tells EW . Turns out executive producer Frank Valentini was definitely interested in staging a comeback for Francis , who worked on `` GH '' from 1976 to 2008 , but they made the decision to wait for the right time . `` I do n't know what the story is , '' she says . `` I have no idea , but Frank is very persuasive , energetic , infectious and has a sense of fun , a positive-ness that makes you want to work for the guy . He assured me there was going to be nice stuff to play . I am choosing to believe him ! '' Zooey Deschanel : Name game at TCA . Francis had only one caveat â€ ” that there be an explanation for why she was gone from Port Charles for so long . In the `` GH '' world , Laura has three kids : Lulu and Lucky with Luke Spencer , and Nikolas with Stavros Cassadine . `` It 's not for me to tell them how to run their show . But my biggest concern was that there had to be a good reason for me to stay away from my family , '' Francis says . See the original article at EW.com . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved .
Francis just closed a deal to reprise her role as Laura Spencer on `` General Hospital '' She 'll report to the sudser 's set sometime later this month for a February 11 debut . It 's unclear how long Francis , a.k.a . Laura , will stick around Port Charles this time .