Kelly Monaco: FIRED from General Hospital!

Stunning news today from Hollywood:

Kelly Monaco, a veteran actress who has played the role of Sam McCall on ABC's “General Hospital” since October 2003, has been fired by the network and will depart the soap opera sometime this fall.

It doesn't sound like she's coming back either.

Because the show plans to kill McCall.

According to Soap Opera Network, which announced this unexpected development, Monaco was “blindsided” by the firing.

Before joining General Hospital over two decades ago, Monaco was best known for her role as Livvie Locke on Port Charles, a half-hour spin-off of the same series.

Monaco served in this role from 2000 to 2003, moving to the long-term program after Port Charles was discontinued.

Since then, the star has been nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards – first in 2003 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and then in 2006 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Monaco competed in the very first season of Dancing With the Stars 19 years ago and actually won the first Mirror Ball trophy.

In 2012, she was a contestant in the All-Stars edition of the show, where Monaco and her professional partner Val Chmerkovskiy finished in third place.

In 2017, Monaco returned to Dancing With the Stars to perform the Rumba with Terrell Owens and Cheryl Burke.

The actress reunited with Chmerkovskiy in January for General Hospital's 60th anniversary primetime special. At the time, no one would have guessed that Monaco would be fired just months later.

“I put my dancing shoes back on for @GeneralHospital's primetime special (with a special appearance by @valentin),” Monaco wrote on Instagram earlier this year under a photo of himself and the aforementioned dancer.

“'General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars and Storytelling' airs tomorrow (January 4) at 10 p.m. on ABC. Don't miss it!”

And now we're missing Kelly Monaco from General Hospital.

Her last broadcast date in the soap opera is currently unknown.