Maura West Joins General Hospital as Ava Jerome

Maura West is joining General Hospital in the newly created role of Ava Jerome.

The two-time Daytime Emmy winner, who rose to fame as Carly on As the World Turns has begun taping on the Los Angeles set of GH. She will first air in May.

No other details were provided. However, long term soap fans know that Jerome legacy is an integral part of the Port Charles landscape.

"Victor Jerome was a onetime crime boss there in Port Charles, one who had quite the fixation on Lucy Coe," TV Line recalled.

"Similarly, the old man's daughter Olivia (played by Tonja Walker, inset) created all kinds of headaches for object-of-her-obsession Duke Lavery and his wife Anna."

The site speculated as to storyline capabilities of West assuming this brand new role that had prominent ties to the past.

"Will GH play a bit loose with the math and make Ava a long-lost daughter of the deceased Olivia? Or is she a never-before-seen Jerome empire heir?"

The daytime veteran has been a staple on soap operas for 15 years. She joined ATWT in 1995. Her portrayal of Carly ultimate made the former vixen into one of the leading heroine's on the show before its cancellation in 2010. She later joined Young & the Restless in the short lived role of Diane Jenkins. West commented on why her incarnation of the character fell flat with viewers after being beloved as Carly.

"Frankly, I did jump in rather quickly because I didn't want to be the last person to have a seat in this [casting] game of musical chairs," West said in 2011.

"So, I took the first seat available. Yeah, when [my husband] Scott [De Freitas], my agent and I speak in retrospect, we all agree I should have waited for something else."

West said that her excitement overtook her better judgment.

"I would have asked more questions, for sure. I mean, Diane's my mother's age! That should have raised some red flags. But I was excited with the prospect of working with a group of extremely talented people on Y&R," she said.

"I also wanted a change. [Moreover], I was excited about moving to LA. There were a lot of positive reasons why I took the job, but there were also some reasons why I shouldn't have taken the job."

The fan favorite new role is one that she could not pass up.  She shared her happiness on Twitter.

"I'm thrilled! Happy actress!" West tweeted on April 24.