GMA welcomes back famous former anchor while Michael Strahan is away — and you'll never guess who it is

Good Morning America played host today to one of their very own in a new interview segment, amid the ongoing absence of Michael Strahan (who is on a well-earned vacation ), that being none other than TV actor and host Cameron Mathison .

The 54-year-old Canadian-American TV star may be recognizable to most as a soap opera veteran, but for several years, he was almost one of the most notable members of the ABC News roster.

After kicking off his career as a model and a few film appearances, Cameron made his splashy debut in 1997 as Ryan Lavery in All My Children , a role he inhabited up until 2011.

The role earned him a Soap Opera Digest Award in 1999 and two Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in the 2000s, which he followed up with appearances on Dancing with the Stars and other TV series and movies.

In 2009, after filming several segments and hosting a variety of specials for GMA , Cameron joined the roster as a regular correspondent, using his star power and charisma to help cover several major events, like the Oscars, Golden Globes, Grammys, VMAs, and many more.

He remained in the role until 2015, when he joined Entertainment Tonight as one of their weekend anchors and correspondents, but worked closely alongside beloved current hosts like Lara Spencer on several segments for GMA before he left.

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And now he's reunited with his old colleagues once again, appearing on the show for an interview with Lara and Whit Johnson on the Wednesday, July 24 installment, promoting his upcoming game show Beat the Bridge .

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He reached out and embraced Lara, who exclaimed they were "so happy" to have him back, and he was just as enthusiastic, saying: "It's so good to be here, love you guys!"

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Cameron spoke fondly about being a game show host and forging connections with the participants on the brand new trivia quiz show, and his former colleague praised him for being just as "authentic" on the show as he was on GMA .

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"We loved when you were here on GMA , you did a lot of really awesome work for us, I loved working with you," she sweetly added, mentioning that he recalled some of his favorite moments on the ABC News show involving appearances made by his kids.

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Since 2002, Cameron has been married to model Vanessa Marie Arevalo, and together they share son Lucas, 21, and daughter Leila, who turned 18 earlier this month.

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"I flash back, and I think it was around the summer of 2008, and I was doing a lot of segments with my kids," he remembered. "There was a water park segment, and then we did this beautiful staycation segment." When some of the old footage popped back up on screen, he exclaimed: "Oh my gosh, they're so little, I can't stand it!"

"I hope they're watching right now," he said, and he bonded further with Lara over soon becoming an empty nester once Leila leaves for college in the fall, and the two gushed about being "over their heads" when their kids were toddlers while working together.