Here are some of the news stories posted on soapcentral.com's Guiding Light section during the 2006 calendar year. To access articles from other years or to review articles with similar themes, please see the RELATED INFORMATION box directly below this text.

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What was the biggest GL news story of 2006?  SEP: Gatschet, Pelphrey to exit GL in early 2007.   38%   APR: Four GL (Clarke, Zimmer, Pelphret, Tognoni) stars win Daytime Emmys.   24%   JUN: Fans fear Zimmer will exit if Reva is killed by cancer.   14%   NOV: Guiding Light moves ahead of AMC in Nielsen ratings.   12%   MAY: Jordan Clarke on contract after 7 years as recurring.   9%   Other   2%   JAN: Former executive producer Paul Rauch suffers a heart attack.   0%     Poll Posted: December 25th, 2006

It wasn't exactly and exhaustive search, but Guiding Light has found an actress to assume the role of Lizzie Spaulding. As first reported by soapcentral.com last month, the CBS soap was left in a bit of a lurch when Crystal Hunt (Lizzie Spaulding) announced that she would be exiting the show.

Former Guiding Light executive producer Paul Rauch is recuperating from a heart attack. Rauch underwent surgery, but told Soap Opera Weekly that he "just got a clean bill of health" from his doctors and is undergoing a heart rehab program.

Though no one is saying anything on the record, buzz continues to swirl that little-used actor Scott Bailey (Sandy Foster) will soon be exiting his role on Guiding Light.

Guiding Light is now confirming that Scott Bailey (Sandy Foster) will exit the show. News of Bailey's impending exit was first reported by soapcentral.com back in January.

Justin Klosky (Joey Lupo) will be returning to Guiding Light next month. The return brings the actor back to the CBS soap for the first time in over a year.

Last year, it may have seemed like every time a news story broke on the soapcentral.com site it had something to do with another firing at Guiding Light. But 2006 is a new year - and what a difference a year can make.

As reported by soapcentral.com back in February, executives at Guiding Light have approached three of the show's veteran performers that were let go as part of the show's recent budget cuts. While the news was welcome news to long-time fans, it doesn't look like the news was met with equal fanfare by the actors in question.

In what would be a major loss to the show, insiders are reporting that Emmy-nominated Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan Randall) will be leaving the show when his contract expires later this year.

"Oh, this is such a treat," Clarke sighed as he accepted his trophy. "I think [Guiding Light] is so fabulous, and the people on it. I've watched them for 30 years [and] have grown with you guys."

"I didn't expect this," Tognoni gushed from the stage. "Oh my goodness."

The Outstanding Younger Actor category had the distinction of being the only soap-related category on this year's ballot in which none of the nominees had previously won a Daytime Emmy. However, the five nominees had racked up an impressive nine total nominations between them.

For soap fans who mistakenly tuned in to the last 30 minutes of the show's broadcast hoping to catch the announcement of the "big three" awards, there was a surprise: there was a shake-up in the order of which this year's winners were announced. The Lead Actress category was announced in the first hour of the three-hour long broadcast.

The Stanley Cup, one of the oldest and most revered trophies in all professional sports, made its "acting" debut on the set of the longest-running television show in broadcast history, Guiding Light. The Cup shot a scene with the show's most popular couple, Jonathan and Tammy, played by recent Daytime Emmy winner Tom Pelphrey, and Stephanie Gatschet, respectively.

The "Billy Falls Off the Wagon" episode of CBS Television's daytime drama The Guiding Light received a PRISM Award in the TV Daytime Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline category at the 10th Annual PRISM Awards gala dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel on April 27th, 2006.

Amid last year's unprecedented steps by Procter & Gamble Productions to trim Guiding Light's budgets, stars were asked to take across-the-board pay cuts. One star, however, refused to accept a pay cut and that refusal set off a wave of walkout talks and other rumors.

Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan Randall) will not be exiting Guiding Light when his contract expires later this year. While the news is definitely good for both the show and for Pelphrey's fans, there is a caveat: Pelphrey could still be leaving the show.

What a difference a Daytime Emmy makes. Long-time Guiding Light star Jordan Clarke (Billy Lewis), who earlier this year picked up an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor, has gotten his wish - he has been offered and signed his name to a long-term contract with the CBS soap.

Just as Guiding Light's declining ratings seemed to have leveled off comes news that the show will soon lose two of its most popular young performers. Setside sources tell soapcentral.com that both Stephanie Gatschet (Tammy Winslow) and Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan Randall) will be gone be gone by the time the new year rolls around.

Though unconfirmed at "post time," soapcentral.com has learned that former Guiding Light star Vincent Irizarry will be leaving All My Children within the upcoming weeks. The decision to fire Irizarry may come as a shock to fans, but from a budgetary standpoint the network has been paying the high caliber actor for little on-screen time.

As first alluded to in September, soapcentral.com has confirmed that Vincent Irizarry is in talks to rejoin the cast of Guiding Light. The veteran soap star, whose was released by All My Children earlier this fall, will reprise one of the two characters he previously portrayed on the CBS soap.

The speculation is over: soap veteran Vincent Irizarry will be returning the CBS. However, the Emmy-nominated actor will not be returning to Guiding Light. Instead the actor will head west to The Young and the Restless and try his hand at creating a brand new character.