Laura Spencer is leaving 'General Hospital'

General Hospital fans should give up hope that Laura Spencer is coming back to Port Charles — because she’s already booked a one-way trip to Genoa City! EW has learned exclusively that Genie Francis, who starred on GH off and on from 1976 to 2008, will join the cast of The Young and the Restless at the end of May. She’ll play the mom of Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard), who was declared dead outside his dad’s wedding last month and is now appearing as a ghost on the series. Y&R head writer Maria Arena Bell approached the daytime star after hearing her bemoan how ”there is nothing in me that is willing to play a victim anymore” during a special GH reunion on The Oprah Winfrey Show in February. ”With all the GH appearances, they were using me as a media trick,” Francis, 48, tells EW. ”I wanted to work in a way that uses all of me so I’m not just cheating my audience. Maria liked what I wanted to play, and she had an idea of how to write that.” Francis’ new gig means she won’t be available to GH should it decide to acknowledge Luke and Laura Spencer’s 30th anniversary on Nov. 17. But the Los Angeles-based actress doesn’t seem too broken up about it. ”They can certainly get the wig out,” quips Francis, referring to Laura’s signature coif. ”It comes out every now and again. But they can’t do it with me.”