As the heat turned up on Henry Dalton in recent weeks on General Hospital, fans suspected that the shady professor’s days might be numbered. Those instincts proved to be spot-on, as the show is confirming that Daniel Goddard has wrapped his time in the role, which kicked off with Dalton’s arrival in Port Charles this past April.

The Naughty Professor

In a statement provided to Soap Opera Digest, a spokesperson for the show said, “We can confirm that Daniel Goddard has exited General Hospital as Professor Henry Dalton. Executive Producer Frank Valentini says, ‘I really enjoyed working with Daniel. It was a short-term role from the start and we appreciate what a good job Daniel did with it. We wish him all the best in the future.’”

In the Wednesday, November 19 episode of GH, Dalton’s fate appeared to be sealed when, after drunkenly confessing to Josslyn (Eden McCoy) that he was indeed conducting illegal testing on animals — which Emma (Braedyn Bruner) had long suspected — he hightailed it to Wyndemere for a rendezvous with his co-conspirator Sidwell (Carlo Rota). Britt (Kelly Thiebaud), who resented that Sidwell was forcing her to work with Dalton and was furious that Dalton had lied to the police that Rocco had destroyed his lab during the recent break-in, sneered to Sidwell that Dalton had become a liability and should be cut loose. Sidwell agreed with her that Dalton’s actions had put their operation at risk, so he calmly grabbed a gun and shot Dalton in the chest!

Goddard originally auditioned for GH back in 2005, when the show was casting the role of Patrick Drake (the part instead went to Jason Thompson, now Billy on Young and Restless). From 2007-19, Goddard went on to star on Y&R as Cane Ashby, a role now played by Billy Flynn, and when he did ultimately join the GH ranks, his storyline immediately intersected with the character of Emma, Patrick Drake’s college-aged daughter. Shortly after Goddard’s debut, Bruner told Digest, “I knew immediately from our first rehearsal how seasoned this man was. He just came in with so much confidence and charm. It was perfect for the character, but he’s just incredibly natural and a grounded performer and just a great guy to boot.”

Goddard was equally complimentary of Bruner when he chatted with Digest last spring, noting, “Braedyn’s young and she just started on the show last year, and it’s very, very difficult to get thrust into such an important role where you have deep roots on the show and Anna Devane [Finola Hughes] is your grandmother! It’s so much to take on, and [when I worked with her] I thought, ‘She has such an incredible levity about her.’ She’s fun, she’s kind, she’s sweet — she’s just an absolute pleasure, and I’ve really enjoyed the scenes we’ve had. There’s sort of a rivalry between Emma and Josslyn Jacks, and somehow Dalton is getting wedged into the middle of it, from an academic point of view, so I was really curious to see how Braedyn would play everything, and she brings a real, genuine truth to everything. She’s just so professional.”

As viewers learned more about Dalton, it became clear that he was up to no good, a fact confirmed when he was revealed to be in cahoots with Sidwell and connected to the mysterious research Britt was doing at the Five Poppies. In the lead-up to his exit, Dalton goaded Mayor Laura Collins (Genie Francis) into smacking him in public, potentially jeopardizing her bid for reelection, and, of course, his false claims against Rocco have landed the teen in legal hot water. So, it seems a safe bet that his apparent death will bring plenty of story complications along with it.

In real life, Goddard sadly lost his father earlier this month, and on November 18, he shared on Instagram, “I fly back to Australia tonight for my dad’s funeral… Thank you for your condolences and compassion since the news of his passing. I’m so grateful for your love and support. You have no idea how much it means to me. 🙏🏻❤️”