Josh Duhamel to return to canceled soap opera

Josh Duhamel is set to arrive back on the set of All My Children this August.

Duhamel joined the cast in 1999 as heart-throb Leo Du Press. This was his first acting role, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

He exited the show in 2002 to embrace other acting roles.

Since his departure, Duhamel has appeared in such films as Transformers and When in Rome.

In April, ABC announced its plans to cancel the 41-year-old soap opera. Along with this decision, One Life to Live is scheduled to end in January 2012.

General Hospital will be the stand-alone soap opera on the network.

Katie Couric will have a talk show starting in September 2012, filling up the newly opened time slots.

In May, soap fans from the organization SoapFansUnited.com, protested this change asking advertisers on the network to boycott ABC and Disney.

They asked them to “consider carefully whether ABC/Disney's strategy will increase your company's revenue or create consumer loyalty toward your products. Your consumers see ABC/Disney's move to new daytime programming for what it is -- glorified infomercials appropriate for late-night basic cable channels, not for a major broadcast network."