One of television’s most popular villains is set to return to the screen after an eight-year absence, Soap Central reports. Actress Lynn Herring will reprise her role as Lucy Coe on ABC’s daytime stalwart “General Hospital.”

The character started out as a mousy librarian and later emerged as a man-hungry femme fatale. She was on the show from 1986 through 1997, before being one of the key characters transplanted to the spinoff series "Port Charles." She stayed there until that series ended in 2003.

She returned briefly to “General Hospital,” where the character was last seen in July 2004.

The character will return next month, with her first appearance set for Dec. 14. In the storyline, Lucy is asked back to help create the Nurses’ Ball, an annual Port Charles event.

Herring has also appeared on “Days of Our Lives” and “As the World Turns.”

Lynn Herring