| Jonathon McKenna | |||||||||||||
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| Kieren Hutchison as Jonathon in 2011. | |||||||||||||
| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Kieren Hutchison | ||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Tony Holden (1993) Gavin Stawham (1996) Steven Zanoski (2011) |
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| Duration | 1993–95, 1996, 2011 | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | 19 October 1993 episode 367 |
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| Last appearance | 11 November 2011 episode 4875 |
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| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 1975 | ||||||||||||
| Occupation | Surgeon | ||||||||||||
| Alternative image(s) | |||||||||||||
| Jonathon as he appeared in 1994. | |||||||||||||
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Dr. Jonathon Alexander McKenna[1] is a fictional character in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. He is portrayed by Kieren Hutchison and appeared in recurring and regular stints as a teenager throughout the early to mid nineties as part of the McKenna family unit before returning as an adult surgeon for 6 months in 2011.
He arrived in late 1993 as the troublesome brother of Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield) and arch nemesis of Nick Harrison (Karl Burnett). It was not long before he came out gay and began a relationship with paramedic Jamie Forrest (Karl Urban). After going in and out of medical school, Jonathon ended up having an HIV scare and leaving town for good. He returned on 23 May 2011[2] after a 15 year break, making him the character with the longest break between appearances. The character revealed he was bisexual, broke girlfriend Gabrielle Jacobs' (Virginie Le Brun) heart and departed in mid November.
The characters cheeky and at times, arrogant behavior has caused the character to be at odd's many times with his family, especially father, Michael (Paul Gittins) and sister, Rachel. However the character maintained a loving relationship with mother Alex (Liddy Holloway) throughout his many stints.
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After plans for a homosexual heart throb fell through in the development of original character Stuart Neilson,[3] producers decided to create the character of Jonathon, the gay brother of established character Rachel McKenna. Kieren Hutchison auditioned for the role when he was 18 and eventually learned he had secured the role, much to his surprise as he considered his audition "shocking".[4] The job was not what he expected but he soon settled in and enjoyed working alongside screen sister, Angela Bloomfield.[5] After leaving in 1995, Hutchison scored a return to the role in 1996 and was interested at how the character's storylines and dynamics had changed following the departure of his parents.[6]
It was announced that Jonathon was to have 'a break' from the show in September 1996 so Hutchison could film scenes for the television series, "The Swiss Family Robinson".[7] Jonathon was slated to return the following year,[8] but Hutchison decided against it.
In April 2011 it was announced that a "former cast member" would be returning[9] with the news being revealed on 12 May that Rachel's brother, Jonathon would be returning, still played by Kieren Hutchison.[10][11] Hutchison was quoted as saying: "It was really nice to have some familiar faces in the building. Being able to work with Angela (Rachel McKenna) and Michael (Chris Warner) again has been fantastic."[12] It was announced that Jonathon would appear in a 6 month stint.[13] The character departed on 11 November 2011.
Jonathon arrives in October 1993 having been expelled from a boarding school in Australia his parents, Michael (Paul Gittins) and Alex McKenna (Liddy Holloway) sent him to. He gains praise from his parents by appearing in the school production, taking the role Nick (Karl Burnett) was going for. Its soon clear he has a crush with many suspecting young nurse Jo Jordan (Greer Robson). Sister, Rachel (Angela Bloomfield) reads his diary and finds he is gay, with the crush being paramedic Jamie Forrest (Karl Urban). Jonathon and Jamie start to date infuriating Michael.
In 1994, Michael and Alex struggle to cope with Jonathon's sexuality but learn to adjust to it. Eventually, they save Jonathon and Jamie from a group of homophobic attackers. The relationship does not last, however as Jamie breaks up with Jonathon as he wants a more serious relationship. They both leave Shortland Street separately. Jonathon returns however when Alex falls into a coma.
In 1995, Jonathon leaves again to go to medical school. In 1996, a social worker named Kane Taiaroa (Joe Folau) that Rachel is interested in, and whom is in a relationship with Rebecca (Luisa Burgess), comes out to a returned Jonathon and the two start to have an affair. But Jonathon is shocked when he finds he may have contracted HIV. After the tests come back clear, Jonathon decides to visit his father in the countryside.
In 2002, Rachel tells Chris (Michael Galvin) that she has decided to go and visit her brother in Australia. However the supposed visit is just a lie Rachel has concocted to cover for a tubaligation that she has behind Chris' back.
Upon Rachel's return to Shortland Street in 2009, Rachel announces she has lost all contact with Jonathon.
In September 2010, Rachel McKenna receives a phone call saying that Jonathon has been in a very serious car crash but is in a stable condition. She travels to meet him and he eventually recovers.
On 23 May 2011, Jonathon arrives to the Warner Mansion unannounced, claiming he is there to reconnect with Rachel. However it is soon clear he is back to receive high risk surgery on his brain following his car accident the past year. He develops Hysterical Blindness and starts to date Gabrielle Jacobs (Virginie Le Brun). In July Jonathon finally regains his eyesight. Growing sick of Gabrielle, Jonathon develops a crush on Daniel Potts (Ido Drent). He breaks up with Gabrielle and makes moves on Daniel, only to be punched. He decides to travel back to Los Angeles and departs in mid November.
Jonathon arrived to screens in October 1993 as the final addition to the McKenna family unit, led by patriarch Michael. He was described as "Drop dead gorgeous, highly intelligent, gifted athlete and all round Mr Nice Guy".[1] His personality however was labelled as arrogant and was "by no means cruel but his arrogant flippancy cuts like a knife. Having never experienced rejection and self-doubt, Jonathon is blithely ignorant of the emotional pain of others."[1] He was; "protective of his baby sister but often finds himself competing wither her for parental funds and attention."[1] and his relationship with mother Alex was described as; "Jonathon and Alex are best of friends and he is Alex's staunchest ally in her stormy relationship with Michael."[1]
He quickly caused a stir upon arrival, competing with childhood nemesis Nick Harrison, who though the same age was much more immature.[1] While continuing his studies at school and pleasing his father Michael with his academic results, the arrogant schoolboy begins to show signs of having a crush. With the audience and characters expecting the crush to be young nurse Jo Jordan, Rachel discovers it is gay paramedic Jamie Forrest. Instantly propelled to the forefront of the show portraying key social commentary to viewers,[14] Jonathon and Jamie's relationship would continue for several months. The character returned to the show in 1996, with the two parent characters having left the show in 1995, Jonathon and Rachel appeared as more independent with Jonathon taking on even more serious issues. Upon his reappearance, Jonathon was a medical student and quickly sought employment at Shortland Steet, winning a job in the research department alongside Emily Devine. The character also dabbled in drugs. Hutchison enjoyed the experience, saying; "It has also been interesting not having Jonathon's parents on the show - his storylines are now quite different."[6]
Jonathon arrives unannounced to Rachel and her boyfriend Chris' house in May 2011 and it is revealed he needs high risk surgery on his brain after a car accident in 2010. Though Jonathon still has traits of arrogance, he is shown to be mature and grown up. Having finally become a world class surgeon, Jonathon is devastated his brain damage stops him from doing his job. He gets the surgery however falls blind afterwards. His blindness is revealed to be that of Hysterical Blindness and Jonathon soon falls for his surgeon Gabrielle Jacobs. This storyline saw huge backlash with the openly homosexual Jonathon pursuing the female Gabrielle. Jonathon revealed he was now bisexual and the two began dating. After admitting his fear he will underperform at his job, Jonathon regains his sight and gains a job at the hospital. He and Gabrielle hit a rocky patch when he grows sick of her routine behavior and lack of spontaneous characteristics,[15] he tries to accept her for who she is but is quick to develop a crush on the young Daniel.[8] Jonathon dumps Gabrielle and decides to leave the country, sending her into a downward spiral.[16] He makes a move on Daniel, only to be assaulted and then leaves back to Los Angeles.
The character of Jonathon was originally written as so he would be bisexual, with an early storyline showing Jonathon being attracted to both Jo Jordan and Jamie Forrest.[8] However as the storyline developed and Hutchison had numerous breaks, this was never explained in detail.[8] Everytime Hutchison returned to filming, producers ensured him they would explore the storyline and he would get a female love interest, Hutchison explained the idea saying; "the whole point is that he's quite comfortable with the fact that he likes both sexes even though other people don't get it."[8] Jonathon was slated to return after his departure in 1996 and was promised the storyline would be played, but he decided to leave the show.[8] Upon being asked to reprise the role in 2011, producer Steven Zanoski suggested they retry the lost storyline and Hutchison happily agreed.[8] As a result of no previous knowledge to Jonathon's bisexuality, fans were outraged at the storyline that saw Jonathon date Gabrielle Jacobs.
The storyline featuring Jonathon's crush and subsequent love affair with paramedic Jamie Forrest proved both controversial and ground breaking. The couple's kiss became the first same sex kiss on prime time New Zealand television and the storyline even helped a closeted gay male accept his sexuality.[14] The couple's same sex relationship was at the time so controversial that the kiss was not actually shown, with only Sam's expression being witnessed.[14] Medical students also enjoyed how Jonathon represented their lives, with one saying; "It amused us when Jonathon talked about living in Dunedin, his classes at Medical School, his friends and so on. It is script for him but reality for us."[14]
Hutchison has stated that during his first stints from 1992–1995, he received much "agro" and homophobic fan mail and that after his return in 1996, it was a lot more calmed and less hateful.[6] Jonathon's storylines in 1996 were also a lot more controversial than his early plots, with Hutchison noting the characters experimentation with drugs and rocky relationships as being highly controversial.[6] Upon Jonathon's return in 2011, his sexual status was made unclear and fans were outraged when the character embarked on a relationship with female character, Gabrielle Jacobs.[8][17] Following weeks of criticism, scenes aired in June where Jonathon stated he was bisexual, contradicting comments made in past years.
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