Chris McKenna may be playing a secret agent, but the cat’s out of the bag where his future at General Hospital is concerned. According to SoapCentral, the actor announced during the show’s fan club weekend that he’s officially becoming a contract player on the soap.

Happy as fans were to hear this news, it certainly wasn’t a given. You might recall that McKenna stepped into the role of WSB head Jack Brennan when previous portrayer Charles Mesure unexpectedly opted to leave the soap he’d joined less than a year prior. News of the recast came as a surprise and unfolded quickly, with Brennan stepping into the part only days after his predecessor had last aired and less than 48 hours after the switch had been announced.

Ironically, rumors had recently circled that Brennan might soon be killed off, meaning McKenna would be on his way out. But clearly, nothing could be further from the truth! This is particularly good news for fans of the budding relationship between Brennan and Carly, who remains clueless as to the fact that her daughter has been roped into working as an operative for the WSB!

This particular plot development is one that McKenna, Laura Wright (Carly) and Eden McCoy (Joss) are all eager to see playout. “We all can’t wait for it,” he admitted to the site, adding that the trio get excited “every time they tease that it might be coming!” So far, there’s no indication as to when the big reveal will come, but the latest spoilers indicate that on Friday, August 8, Carly will approach her beau with a “suggestion.”

Want to know what’s going to unfold on all five soaps next week? We’ve got all the details in this preview-packed gallery!