| Toni Warner | |||||||||||
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| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Laura Hill | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | Harriet Crampton | ||||||||||
| Duration | 2001–08 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 5 March 2001 episode 2186 |
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| Last appearance | 12 June 2008 episode 4004 |
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| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Date of birth | October 19, 1975 | ||||||||||
| Date of death | June 12, 2008 (age 32) | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Nurse | ||||||||||
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Antoinette "Toni" Warner (née Thompson, formerly McAllister) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Laura Hill from 2001 until 2008.
In 2008, Toni became the first character on the show to give birth, get married and die on screen.
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Toni was introduced as part of a revamp of the show which saw the show become more centralized around families and the public system to accurately portray the New Zealand economy.[1] She was originally named Melanie Thompson,[2] but was renamed shortly before arrival. She arrived in March 2001, arriving late for a job interview.[3]
Toni departed on screen in May 2007 with many fans suspecting the character of having left the show, however actress Laura Hill, confirmed she would be returning.[4] Toni returned to the show in December 2007 and stayed for six more months. Hill decided it was time to leave the show and resigned.[5] The character was killed off in June 2008 after coming down with norovirus.[6][7]
Toni arrived in early 2001 and quickly started a relationship with Matt (Roy Snow) though she later dumped him and moved in with Donna )Stephanie Tauevihi). After a short lived relationship with Adam (Leighton Cardno), Toni started a purely sexual partnership with senior surgeon Chris Warner (Michael Galvin). She fell pregnant and was unsure whether the baby was Chris' or Adams. In May 2002 she gave birth to Harry (Joshua Thompson) and got back together with Adam after Chris was proven as the father. The two broke up but reconciled when Adam was stabbed, before breaking up again in 2003.
In 2003 Toni decided she loved Matt and the two married while on holiday. With the arrival of Chris' mother Margot Warner (Dinah Priestley), Toni and Chris' relationship was deemed possibly incestuous but the rumour was proved wrong when Toni's brother Dom (Shane Cortese) insisted he was really Chris' half brother. Toni divorced a cheating Matt and got back with Adam, only for him to leave her later that year. She briefly dated Logan (Peter Muller) but he went psychotic and kidnapped Harry. Toni and Chris reunited in Fiji and after Dom died while trying to murder Chris, he and Toni got engaged and she found out she was pregnant. The two married in 2005 but Toni miscarried and they separated. Toni decided to try the marriage again only to nearly get murdered by Chris' mistress Greta Saunders (Meryl Maine).
In 2007 Toni discovered Chris had cheated on her multiple times and having found her previous fun life with Chris' half brother Guy ([{Craig Parker]]), she fled with him, Harry (Henry Williams) and Tuesday (Olivia Tennet). Chris tracked them down 6 months later, but Toni and Guy fled and ended up nearly dieing after getting in a serious car crash. Toni survived however, only suffering a burst kidney. Toni and Guy continued their relationship in 2008 however she dumps him and eventually reconciles with Chris, only to suddenly die after contracting Norovirus.
Upon arrival, Toni was labelled a "good time girl".[1] It was said she; "throws herself into the hurly-burly of a wild social life."[3] She was also said to make friends and enemies easily and despite her love of social activity, she is a commitment phobe.[3] Laura Hill found it interesting how fast Toni transformed from a "party girl" to a hard working mother in such a short time but said it was hardly surprising following the "roller coaster" of a time the character experienced.[4]
Toni was described as "popular" by producer Jason Daniel. However actress, Laura Hill stated she thought Toni had lost popularity following her final story lines.[7]
In 2006 Chris and Toni won the Throng Shortland Street Fan Award for "Best Couple" and Toni won runner up for "favorite female character".[8] She won the 2008 award for "most missed character" and her death winning both the "saddest moment" award and being runner up in "biggest letdown".[9]