On September 20, 1999, All My Children fans watched their television screens in disbelief. Dimitri Marick, Hungarian royalty, had apparently ceded his life to a serious illness that had taken over his body. Dimitri stared out over the open water and slowly walked towards the ocean. His robe was found in the sand, but his body was never recovered.

Now there are reports that Michael Nader, the man who created the role of Dimitri Marick in September 1991, is returning to Pine Valley.

The ten-year veteran's departure was suspect to many rumors. Nader's camp voiced the actor's displeasure with non-existent storylines. Ironically, the actor has more on-air time in his final few weeks of taping than he'd had in many months prior.

Other reports had the network releasing Nader from his contract due to financial constraints. The rumors were compounded by the signing of Finola Hughes (Alexandra Devane; formerly Anna Devane, General Hospital) to AMC. Hughes' contract was said to be quite sizeable and many figured that monies in the ABC coffers would have to be freed up. Nader's final airdate was about two months after Hughes' first appearance).

Fans protested Nader's release, which both ABC and Nader claimed was a "mutual decision." At the Super Soap Weekend in Orlando, Florida last year, many fans wore black armbands as signs of their displeasure. Internet petitions circulated and hundreds of letters were mailed off to AMC's New York studio.

By mid-February, sources claimed that Nader had made several trips to Manhattan to speak to ABC execs. A few days later, ABC made the report official: Michael Nader would be returning to All My Children.

A spokesperson for the alphabet network says that Dimitri's return will greatly shake things up, possibly to a budding relationship between Edmund (played by John Callahan) and Alex.

According to published reports, Nader's first airdate is May 5th.