by Dan J Kroll

Posted Monday, January 14, 2008 10:19:22 PM

It may have been one of the soap world's worst kept secrets. Over the past few weeks, there have been whispers that actress Robin Christopher (Skye Chandler Quartermaine) has been unhappy with her story General Hospital. Now, the actress has exited ABC's top rated soap.

As the whispers of Christopher's impending exit grew louder, fans feared that her character might be killed off by the show's Text Message Killer. Those fears turned out to be unwarranted, but some fans questioned why the actress was exiting. Christopher was not fired; the decision to leave was that of the actress. During her nearly seven-year run on General Hospital, Christopher tallied two Daytime Emmy nominations - 2003 and 2005's Outstanding Supporting Actress nods.

Long-time General Hospital viewers may recall that Christopher appeared previously on the show, but the role was not nearly as long-lasting as Skye. In 1993, Christopher appeared briefly as Abby Mitchell. The actress also appeared on NBC's Another World from 1994 to 1997 as Lorna Devon.

How do you feel now that Robin Christopher has exited the GH canvas?  I am very hopeful that Christopher's Skye will end up back on AMC.   48%   I'm upset. I love Robin's work and think show execs wasted her talent.   47%   I'm a fan of Christopher, but I don't think that Skye was needed on GH.   3%   I never cared much for Skye, so it's a good thing that she has exited.   2%   I don't have an opinion about Christopher's exit at this time.   1%   Other   0%     Poll Posted: January 12, 2008

Christopher started her journey as Skye Chandler on All My Children in 1987. She first appeared as a singer, who was later revealed to be the daughter of billionaire Adam Chandler. That history would later be undone as Skye moved to nearby Llanview, the fictional setting of One Life to Live in August 1999. There it was revealed that Skye wasn't actually a Chandler; she was the daughter of Rae Cummings and an unknown father. After Skye moved to Port Charles in April 2001, she was led to believe that her dad was Alan Quartermaine. The General Hospital twist turned out to be short-lived as it was eventually revealed that Alan was not her father. Skye, however, was adopted by the Quartermaine family.

"Robin met with the producers to discuss her desire to explore other opportunities and they obliged," a General Hospital spokesperson said. "We will all miss her. We wish her well in her future endeavors and she has an open invitation to return to Port Charles."

Exactly what Christopher's "other opportunities" are is not yet known. However, there has been rampant speculation that Christopher may return to All My Children.