I'm fascinated by soap opera casting (yes, I have a lame social life). Since a character is usually more important to the show than an actor, you often see a character recast after an actor or actress leaves the role. Sometimes, 6 or 7 different people can play one character over a number of years.

Rebecca Budig played Greenlee Smythe on All My Children for a number of years (though she'll always be Michelle Bauer on Guiding Light to me) but left the ABC show and was replaced. Fans wanted her back in the role and now Budig has decided to come back. And she's not the only one: Debi Morgan and Darnell Williams are coming back to reprise their roles as Angie and Jesse Hubbard, even though Jesse died on screen years ago. It was so long ago that even I was watching the show, and I haven't watched it in years.