Alex McKenna (Shortland Street)

Alexandra "Alex" McKenna (née Wilson) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street and was portrayed by Liddy Holloway from 1993 until 1995 and again for a guest role in 2002.

Creation and casting

Liddy Holloway, who had previously been a writer for the show, was cast as the matriarch of the new family unit, the McKennas. Paul Gittins who portrayed Alex's husband, Michael, would jokingly accuse Holloway of giving her character the best lines of the two.^[1]

Storylines

1992-2002

Alex arrived in town and was quick to show disapproval at estranged husband Michael (Paul Gittins) taking up with a younger women. She started sleeping with teenager Stuart Neilson (Martin Henderson) but fell back in love with Michael and they renewed their vowels. The arrival of their son Jonathon (Kieren Hutchison) proved a problem when he came out as gay, infuriating Michael. In November Alex purchased "Kennedys" bar from Carrie (Lisa Crittenden) and started to manage it. In 1994 Alex enjoyed a brief affair with drug addict Greg Feeney (Tim Balme) but desperate for attention from Michael, underwent plastic surgery which put her into a coma. Michael was suspected of attempting to murder Alex but Rachel (Angela Bloomfield) discovered it was Alex's own fault, saving Michael. Upon Alex's recovery, she and Michael went on a cruise where Alex suffered a nervous break down. The two broke up and Alex took up with a young man, but their age gap was too large and Alex returned to Michael. In 1995 Michael and Alex decided to give their marriage another go. After selling Kennedy's to Jenny Harrison, they moved away from Ferndale to operate a lifestyle block.

In 1996, Alex returned, having separated from Michael once more. Seeing that Rachel had become disillusioned with her social sciences degree and had decided to drop out of University, Alex decided to buy back Kennedy's and give the management of the place to Rachel as a present for her birthday (though Alex retained ownership). Rachel re-named the bar, R-bar after herself.

In 1998 Lionel (John Leigh) contacted Alex and bought the R-bar from her. This caused a major rift between Rachel and Alex, who stopped speaking to one another. When Michael returned later that year, he revealed that while on a trip overseas, Alex contracted an illness and died.

In 2002 Rachel got the shock of her life when she discovered that her mother Alex was still alive. Alex had faked her death as a plot to spend time away from her family. Alex returned home to a reunion with Rachel and her niece Waverley (Claire Chitham), but Chris (Michael Galvin) was soon suspicious of her behaviour in that he thought she was after Chris' money. In the end Chris's suspicions were correct and Rachel sent her mother packing.

Death

In both 2009 and 2011, both Rachel and Jonathon have commented on the passing of Alex, suggesting she died sometime between 2003 and 2009.

References

1. ^ "Liddy Holloway dies, aged 57". One News. Television New Zealand. December 2004. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_national_story_skin/466548?format=html.