Amanda Warner

Amanda Warner
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by Uncredited actress (1993)
Marissa Stott (2005)
Duration 1993, 2005
First appearance March 1993
Last appearance 12 October 2005
episode 3343
Classification Past; Recurring
Profile
Date of birth 1966
Residence Ferndale, New Zealand

Amanda Warner is a fictional character in the long running New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Amanda is the disabled twin sister of Chris Warner. She has appeared in two short stints throughout the show, and was portrayed by Marissa Stott in 2005.

Contents

Storylines

Backstory

She is daughter of Sir Bruce Warner, twin sister to Chris Warner, half-sister to Guy Warner. After Chris and Amanda were born, it was determined that Amanda’s cognitive ability was so limited that she was little more than a vegetable. Not wanting to deal with the social stigma, Sir Bruce had Amanda sent to the Kaufmann Institute in Switzerland where she would live out her days under supervised care. In order to achieve this, Sir Bruce told Margot, Lady Warner that Amanda had died shortly after birth.

1993

In 1993, Guy discovered the secret that Amanda was still alive. Chris did not cope well, but after pressure from Guy, Chris visited his sister. Margot Warner wished to take her child home, but Chris knew that she could not survive as she needed constant medical attention. Chris decided to send Amanda to the private ward at Shortland Street. But after while, the Warners decided to send Amanda to the best possible care in the Kaufmann Institute in Switzerland.

2005

In 2005, Amanda was kidnapped from the Kaufmann Institute by her caregiver Liam Todd (Campbell Cooley) and returned to New Zealand. For many days Liam attempted to convince Chris (and wife, Toni) that Amanda wasn’t a mere vegetable but was a fully cognitive person, regardless of her physical limitations. Chris believed Liam to be a con-man attempting to exploit his hopes in exchange for money to look after Amanda on a permanent basis. Being a nurse like Liam, Toni was more open to the possibility that he had made some form of connection with Amanda that the average person would be unable to see. She also tried to convince Chris that part of his opposition to the possibility that Liam may be right was the fear that he’d have to accept that Amanda had spent much of her life trapped and forgotten by her family.

During a visit, Liam had Amanda demonstrate she can answer multiple choice questions via pointing to cards with pictures on them. Chris remained unconvinced and throws Liam out of their house.

However, one evening, Amanda reached out and touched Chris’ face while making eye contact which convinced him of Liam’s claims. However, he was still uncertain of Liam’s trustworthiness in the situation. Eventually, Chris relented and decided to bestow Liam the role of permanent caregiver to his sister. Unfortunately, Toni had earlier witnessed Liam massaging Amanda in a suggestive matter and she attempted to sway Chris’ decision fearing Liam may be taking sexual advantage of Amanda. Though Liam declares it was solely a therapeutic form of reflexology, he also shocks Chris and Toni by stating he loves Amanda.

Chris has Uncle Garth do a background check on Liam and discovers that before Liam went to work at the Kaufmann institute, he’d spent 10 years in a psychiatric facility.

When confronted by Chris and Toni on the matter, Liam confessed all but explained that the reason his mother committed him was because of a misunderstood Bi-polar disorder. It was because of his abandonment that he had grown to understand Amanda and care for her so much.

In the end, Chris and Toni decide to commit Amanda to a local care facility but surprise Liam by granting him the ability to continue working with her.

External links

References

The Warner family in Shortland Street