The ongoing question of whether or not Michael Nader will ever return to All My Children remains unanswered.
Nader, who created the role of Dimitri Marick in 1991, is currently in an unnamed substance abuse treatment facility. Nader entered rehab on the heels of a February arrest for allegedly selling $20 worth of cocaine at an illegal social club in Manhattan.
Beginning this week, Anthony Addabbo (ex-Jim Lemay, Guiding Light) will take over the role of Dimitri - but it's unclear how long Addabbo will remain with the show. Insiders insist that Addabbo hasn't been offered a long-term contract with the show. That, however, doesn't rule out that the actor could become a permanent fixture, but it also doesn't mean that Nader couldn't return at a later date. Still a third possibility is that Addabbo will stay on as Dimitri until another actor can be tapped to take over the role.
A group of fans, known as The Loyalists, are lobbying ABC to bring Nader back when he's able to return to the rigors of taping All My Children.
Last week, Soap Opera Central posted a letter from Nader to his fans in which he thanks them for their support and seems to imply that he will do whatever he can to find a way back to his fictional hometown of Pine Valley.
So far, ABC hasn't said anything to signal what they are going to do. The network did issue a statement giving a glimmer of hope to Nader's fans. In the same breath, though, they did everything but close the book on the situation.
"Given Mr. Nader's unavailability, [All My Children] had to recast the role of Dimitri Marick. We certainly hope that Mr. Nader gets the help he needs," said ABC in a statement released last month. "If Mr. Nader gets the help he needs and addresses his problem, and if it makes sense for the show, we would be prepared to speak with Michael in the future."