| Stuart Neilson | |||||||||||||
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| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Martin Henderson | ||||||||||||
| Created by | Bettina Hollings | ||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Caterina De Nave | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 1992–95 | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | 25 May 1992 episode 1 |
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| Last appearance | March 1995 | ||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 21 August 1975 | ||||||||||||
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Stuart Neilson is a fictional character in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Martin Henderson as part of the original cast,[1] with a lot of the first episode focusing around him.
The character's three years on the soap exhibited several major storylines as well as social commentary on youth, religion and mental illness. Stuart was introduced alongside mother, Marj (Elizabeth McRae) and father, Tom Neilson (Adrian Keeling) and brothers, Darryl (Mark Ferguson) and Damien (Mark Ferguson) who appeared on sporadical stints and eldest brother Patrick (uncredited actor) who appeared for a single guest appearance.
The character was generally well received with Henderson winning the "Best Male Dramatic Performance in a Television Show" in the 1993 New Zealand Television and Film Awards. The character has since become iconic after leaving in 1995.
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Tom (Adrian Keeling) and his wife Marj (Elizabeth McRae), a receptionist at Shortland Street were horrified when their son Stuart claimed that he was the father of the baby that Hone (Temuera Morrison) had delivered. It was quickly revealed that Stuart's brother Darryl (Mark Ferguson) was the real father. Stuart was strongly Catholic and a virgin. He became friends with Miles Lucas but was shocked when Miles committed suicide shortly after Stuart's 17th birthday party. A saddened Stuart confided in Kirsty (Angela Dotchin) and ended up losing his virginity.
In 1993, Stuart's father, Tom disappeared. Stuart was devastated by Tom's disappearance and renounced his Catholic faith and his plans to become a priest. He dropped out of his heavily religious school, much to the annoyance of the teachers and Marj. Stuart briefly had a fling with the middle aged Alex McKenna (Liddy Holloway) but he truly fell for her daughter Rachel (Angela Bloomfield). The two broke up following Rachel's discovery of Stuart and Alex's past relationship. Tom returned wanting a kidney and Stuart offered to donate his, the blood type did not match however and Darryl ended up saving Tom, only for Tom to die of a heart attack. Stuart started to date Jo Jordan (Greer Robson).
In 1994 Stuart started in the real estate business and soon took Jo's virginity. However, Stuart eventually falls in love with Rebecca Frost (Luisa Burgess) and dumps Jo, but does not succeed in dating Rebecca. At the end of the year, Darryl persuades Stuart to break up Kirsty and Lionel's (John Leigh) wedding. In 1995 Stuart apologizes and skips town. He returns shortly after with teenage runaway, Lulu Chatfield (Meighan Desmond). Lulu was fostered by Marj and her new husband Laurie (Chic Littlewood). Stuart then skipped town never to return. When he heard of Darryl's death, he refused to attend the funeral of a brother he despised.
Martin Henderson was cast as Stuart,[2] the teenage son of Marj and Tom. The three characters (and several recurring brothers) were the start of, what was to become a long line of family units, followed closely by the McKenna family.
As the show was created, it was decided there was to be two heart throb teenage characters to draw in the young demographic, one was to be the sensible and polite Stuart and the other, the drug taking rebel Nick Harrison. Stuart's character was written as that he would be revealed to be gay during the shows first year, but TVNZ got cold feet when the other heart throb, Nick, did not turn out the way he was conceived and they did not want the show's major heart throb to be gay. However the show was already on air and the character of Stuart was already shown to be ignoring Kirsty Knight's affections. The writers decided to change the character from being gay to heavily religious.[3]
In late 1994 it was rumoured Stuart would be departing the show in early 1995, when he marries Kirsty and runs off,[4] in January 1995 it was again rumoured that Stuart was leaving the show, this time to go become a priest.[4] After appearing on the show for three years, Henderson became increasingly dissatisfied with Stuart's storylines and felt the character was becoming one dimensional,[4] he left the role and moved to Australia.[2] The characters father Tom, had been killed off in 1993 and brother, Darryl was killed off shortly after Stuarts departure. Marj stayed with the show for another year before returning for guest appearances in 1998 and 2002.
Stuart's three years on Shortland Street saw the character go through numerous changes that helped bring teenage life, religion and social commentary to the show. Upon arrival Stuart was described as "a young innocent who caught the eyes of several female cast members".[5] His original role in the show was the naive but smart teenage son of receptionist Marj and paramedic Tom Neilson. With the character being only 16, Stuart was shown as being vulnerable and easily led by his parents yet still retaining a courageous streak shown when Stuart claimed to be the father of a newborn baby[6] however the audience soon learned that Stuart and his family were devoutly Catholic which meant Stuart was a virgin and was to remain so until marriage. Due to his mother working alongside Jenny Harrison, Stuart became friendly with the slightly younger Nick Harrison. Nick was classified as the slightly 'geeky' teen whilst Stuart was seen as broody and a bit of a thinker.[7] The two got into trouble frequently together with Stuart beginning to tire of Nick's immaturity. Stuart was shown to have a soft spot for Kirsty but was not interested in anything romantic. The audience learned the impact of teenage suicide when Stuart's friend Miles committed suicide following Stuart's 17th birthday party. Viewers were introduced to a new more defined Stuart as a result and he lost his virginity to Kirsty, a move he later regretted.
Stuart's strained relationship with manipulative brother Darryl was often at the forefront of the show, with the baby Stuart had claimed ending up belonging to Darryl. Stuart later warned Kirsty off his adult brother but was still shocked when he heard Darryl had attempted to rape Kirsty.[8] With this storyline, Stuart was once again represented as a forefront of the issue based rape storyline. In 1993, the 17 year old Stuart was shocked when Tom fled Ferndale with all the Neilson's money. The character of Stuart once again underwent a major revamp with Stuart renouncing his Catholic faith, dropping out of school and becoming an artist. A more rough image of Stuart is painted during this period with Stuart having a sexual relationship with the middle aged Alex McKenna, for the sole reason of furthering his career. However Stuart is shocked when Alex starts to refuse to see him and he subsequently starts to study fine arts at university. The previously celibate Stuart starts a sexual relationship with Alex's daughter Rachel but after Stuart and Alex's affair is brought forward, Rachel dumped him and developed bulimia, with Stuart once again broadcasting key social commentary to the viewers. Stuart turns 18 and moves out of the house, leaving his past image of a naive innocent schoolboy behind. He begins dating the young and pure Jo Jordan. The two consummate their relationship in early 1994, with Stuart finally starting a serious relationship. However Stuart also begins to grow angry, anti social and begins to drink.
Stuart is shown to take finances into account and decides to quit being an artist. He found interest and employment in property management and viewers were once again introduced to a new clean and mature Stuart, ditching his T-shirts for suits. This characterisation was criticized by reviewers, with claims that the writers were so caught up in the exciting story, they forgot Stuart's past personality and manipulated him into the storyline.[4] Stuart again was thrust into the limelight of the show, teaching the audience the importance of finance and employment. In 1995 Stuart begins to show little compassion towards his family, ditching the country without a farewell and even refusing to return for Darryl's funeral due to the fact he despised him.
The character picked up a "heartthrob" status[9] and remains well known to viewers of Shortland Street as the first teenager on the show.[5][10] Henderson won the award for "Best Male Dramatic Performance in a Television Show" in the 1993 New Zealand Television and Film Awards.[11]
The storyline that saw Stuart become involved in the property market was criticized by reviewers, with some claiming the writers were so intent on telling the story, they forgot the characters past personality and ignored his young age.[4]
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