| Isaac Worthington | |||||||||||||||
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| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Matt Minto | ||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Steven Zanoski | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2010-11 | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 8 March 2010 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 31 March 2011 | ||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||
| Home | Philippines | ||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Surgeon (2010-11) | ||||||||||||||
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Dr. Isaac John William Worthington is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera, Shortland Street. He is portrayed by Matt Minto and has been on the show since March 8, 2010. He is the cousin of long time character Chris Warner. The characters badboy attitude and relationship with Dr. Brooke Freeman have caused the duo to be nicknamed 'The Bonnie and Clyde' of Shortland Street.
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It was announced in February 2010 that a new doctor named Isaac Worthington was to heat up the street and not only that, but he was to be the cousin of long serving character Chris Warner. He first appeared on March 8 2010. Isaac left the show on 31 March 2011. In April it was revealed that Isaac's actor Matt Minto had been diagnosed with colon cancer five years beforehand and with this uncertainty on his life, decided to not renew his contract and return to Sydney for new job opportunities.
Isaac arrives to the hospital after crashing into CEO Callum McKay's new car after Libby Jeffries distracted him. It is revealed he is Chris Warner's cousin and he soon gets hired as a surgeon at the hospital. Isaac moved into the Warner Mansion and started to date Libby. She thought he was too much of a playboy however and disliked that he was flirting with Tracey Morrison. The two broke up. Isaac later catches the attention of Libby's sister Tania Jeffries. Tania gets into the relationship wanting fun but she breaks it off after she realizes Isaac wants a committed relationship. Isaac attends Chris' son Harry's soccer match and beds Harry's teacher. They date but soon break it off when the teacher gives Harry unfair treatment. Isaac and Tania decide to have another go and Isaac develops a feud with Luke Durville who considers him an arrogant surgeon. Isaac cheats on Tania with Chris' girlfriend Zoe Archer. Maia forces Isaac to tell Tania, who breaks it off. Isaac is left alone.
Isaac soon started to date Brooke Freeman and purchased a yacht. The yacht got damaged and as punishment, Isaac's mother froze his trust fund. Isaac needed money fast and decided to perform double shifts. He also performed an illegal operation with a Russian gang. Luke started to question the authenticity of the operation and Isaac was shocked when he was kidnapped and apparently murdered. But preferring to keep his money, Isaac decides not to alert the authorities. Brooke pressures Isaac into telling her the truth about Luke, Isaac then decides to alert the police about Luke being missing. Brooke calls him at the station to tell him that Luke is in ED. Isaac questions Luke who says he doesn't know who did this as he was blindfolded the whole time. Later Luke Durville shows suspicions of his kidnapping, he immediately links Issac to it. Isaac and Brooke plant drugs on Luke and make it seem he has an addiction problem which sees Luke being suspended from the hospital indefinitely.
Isaac notices Bella is starting to put the mystery together and he pretends to be in love with her to put her off his scent. This backfires when Bella dumps her boyfriend to be with Isaac. After failing to gain access to his trust fund, Isaac learns from his uncle that he would gain use if he were to marry someone like Bella. Isaac proposes, but Bella realizes the scheme and the two break up. Luke returns in mid March and Isaac again gets him suspended when he beats himself up and frames Luke. Luke soon kidnaps Isaac and pretends to perform taxidermy upon his leg to film a confession, but Isaac realizes the scam and turns Luke into the police for kidnapping.
Luke manages to deliver evidence that Isaac is guilty to uncle Garth and Isaac cries as he decides to murder his uncle, smothering him with a pillow. Isaac doesn't go through with it though and hopes his uncle does not awake from his coma to spread the truth. After getting access to his trust fund from his mother, Isaac tells Brooke he is leaving the country and he would like her to join him. The two board a plane, but after insulting Brooke professionally and socially, Brooke leaves him and Isaac flies to the Philippines alone, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Isaac is last seen in his hotel room, learning that his mother has once again frozen his trust fund, leaving him stuck, moneyless and alone in the Philippines.
Though the characters storylines and personality have been criticized, Matt Minto has been praised with website Throng, often critical of the series and its actors, saying he "may be the best of the bunch. I think he is more than competent at acting."[1]