Just as Guiding Light's declining ratings seemed to have leveled off comes news that the show will soon lose two of its most popular young performers. Setside sources tell Soap Central that both Stephanie Gatschet (Tammy Winslow) and Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan Randall) will be gone be gone by the time the new year rolls around.

A Philadelphia native, Gatschet joined the cast of Guiding Light in July 2002 as a recurring player. In November, Gatschet was offered a contract and Tammy was moved to the front burner. For her work on the CBS soap, Gatschet was twice honored by her co-workers with pre-nominations for the Daytime Emmys in the Outstanding Younger Actress category.

Pelphrey, meanwhile, has been known to want out of the show since earlier this year. While rumors of his impending exit made the rounds, Pelphrey waited quietly until this year's Daytime Emmys to make an official announcement about his status.

"I'm sticking around," Pelphrey confirmed backstage as he spoke to the press about his Outstanding Younger Actor win, though the actor declined to give specifics. "Where's the fun in that? I'm not supposed to talk about it. I truly love the people I work with, so that's why I want to stay."

While Pelphrey had fun teasing the press, fans of the actor will not be tickled to learn that the actor will exit Guiding Light in December. Gatschet is expected to exit a few weeks later in January 2007.

A show spokesperson states that it is not show policy to discuss actor's contract and asserts that both Pelphrey and Gatschet remain members of the Guiding Light cast. It is unclear at this time if either role will be recast.