ABCWelcome back, Juliette!
Nashville fans, prepare for some very good news that will be music to your ears: Hayden Panettiere is set to return to the ABC soap following her medical leave, TVLine reports, revealing her first day back on set was Friday. Panettiere's fan-favorite character Juliette Barnes last appeared in the Nov. 18 episode.
Panettiere, 26, announced in October she would be taking a break from her career to seek treatment for postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter, Kaya, whom she welcomed with fiancé Wladimir Klitschko in December 2014.
ABC had no comment on Panettiere's return to the series.
TVLine, who first reported the news of Panettiere's return to the series, revealed Juliette's 2016 debut will occur in episode 14, which will air in April. In an example of art imitating life (or the other way around), Juliette was dealing with postpartum depression this season after giving birth to her first child with Avery (Jonathan Jackson).
After Panettiere's announcement that she was taking a break, her on-screen love interest Jonathan Jackson, told E! News, "I think she seems to be doing really well, and obviously all of us are very excited for her to come back when it's time. But I'm also really grateful that she's taking the time that she needs, and I think that that's really a wonderful example for people."
Co-star Lennon Stella added, "She's doing good! You know, she's doing what she's doing, and we're like super supportive."
Nashville returns to ABC on March 16.