General Hospital's Finola Hughes Takes Us BTS Of Anna's 'Brutal' House Fire

Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) has never been more vulnerable than she has lately on "General Hospital." After losing all credibility when her past as a double agent was publicly exposed, as well as being shot at by an unknown sniper when she was talking with Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard), things have only gotten worse as her house was burned to the ground when she was out for a run. 

Staying at the Metro Court hotel after losing her home, Anna was horrified to find that her mystery stalker had ransacked it when she was out, spreading red ink all over her clothes. Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart) went to hotel owner Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros) and on the security footage, they saw his daughter, Charlotte Cassadine (Scarlett Fernandez), sneaking into Anna's room around the time of the vandalism.

Valentin didn't tell Anna, because the devastating revelation that Charlotte, the once bad-seed Cassadine child, may be bad again and is terrorizing Anna has thrown him into a tizzy. On October 31, 2023, Anna was pleased when she was offered the opportunity to sublet an apartment and promptly move in. While we haven't actually seen the young girl commit any of these crimes, the fact that she swiped Anna's keys to her new place on the November 1 episode is pretty damning in and of itself. After the episode aired, Hughes spoke to Soap Opera Digest about Anna's house fire. "It was rough! It was brutal," she declared.

Finola Hughes reminisced about taping the "General Hospital" scenes where Anna finds her house on fire. "We shot it really late on a Friday night and it was pretty cool. I mean, it was really well done. The people that do this stuff, our special effects people, they really do a great job," she explained to Soap Opera Digest.

The blaze was shown on screen in all its glory and was a spectacular sight to behold. Hughes admitted her nostalgia for the set, and Anna's personal effects within, noting that actors can get attached to their characters' homes "because it's where you do your work and it's kind of your set."

"For the longest time, Anna lived in the Metro Court and didn't have her own set, and there's sort of a sense of pride you take in it," she said. Hughes said she cheered when Anna got a set, but "then it gets destroyed! But it's okay, it's all part of the story."

Among the props in her character's house was a framed Union Jack picture, and she wanted to make sure that was saved. "I asked for the Union Jack photograph that was on Anna's table not to be destroyed and I keep it in my dressing room." While watching the fire sequence unfold, one of the set artists was nearby. Hughes recalled, "I said, 'This is rough.' And he goes, 'Yeah, it's really sad to see a set burn.' So, I wasn't alone in my mourning."