List of ''Shortland Street'' characters (2006)

The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street in 2006, by order of first appearance.

Ant Richards

Anthony "Ant" Richards was the man Yvonne Jeffries (Alison Quigan) set up with her daughter Tania (Faye Smythe).^[1] Ant worked at the pharmaceutical company – Scott Spear and he was often at the hospital trialing the companies drugs. He and Tania soon got together and Ant contributed to Tania's addiction to prescription medication, supplying her with her fix. However Ant soon started to suspect Scott Spear was manufacturing faulty drugs and he and Tania began to get followed. In October 2006 Huia Samuels (Nicola Kawana) borrowed Ant's new car only for the engine to explode from a rigged bomb, killing her and her unborn child. Ant realised Scott Spear was behind the attempted murder on his life and fled. In August 2008 Craig Valentine (Renato Bartolomei) was contacted by Ant whom was in hiding, after he too began investigating Scott Spear. Together the two alongside Sarah Potts (Amanda Billing) and Justine Jones (Lucy Wigmore) set about exposing Scott Spear. However, as the team were finally about to reveal the truth, Craig was brutally murdered and Ant again fled into hiding.

Mitch Gillespie

Mitch Gillespie appeared in a guest role in early 2006. Mitch reunited with his former girlfriend Judy Brownlee (Donogh Rees) and it was not long before the two reconciled. In February they departed to live together in Australia.

TK Samuels

Dr. Te Koha "TK" Samuels was the travel worn cousin of Huia Samuels (Nicola Kawana). He has been portrayed by Benjamin Mitchell since 25 January 2006 and since his arrival has become one of the most recognisable faces of the show.^[2] The character was involved in a high profile love triangle between himself, Sarah Potts (Amanda Billing) and Craig Valentine (Renato Bartolomei) which culminated in TK and Sarah getting married, divorced and becoming parents to a daughter – Tillie Potts (Nalani Rose Tuhoe).

Libby Jeffries

Olivia "Libby" Tippett (née Jeffries) was the final instalment of the Jeffries family unit. She was portrayed by Fleur Saville until April 2010 and again for brief stints in September 2010 and for the shows 20th anniversary in May 2012. Good looking and efficient, Libby was the personal assistant to the hospital CEO and was famous for her searching towards the perfect husband.

Mackie Bowen

Mackie Bowen was the old medical school friend of TK Samuels (Benjamin Mitchell). Mackie came to help Jay Copeland (Jaime Prassier-Armstrong) run her business as he had become a successful businessman and he began to date Sarah Potts (Amanda Billing). However it soon became clear there was much more to Mackie and it turned out he was a drug addict when he stole Sarah's car.

Brenda Holloway

Brenda Holloway was the alcoholic nursing manager. She arrived in 2006 and despite sparking up a friendship with Yvonne Jeffries (Alison Quigan) and generally getting on well with the staff, it soon became apparent Brenda had a serious drinking problem. She went power crazy following a promotion and even arrived to work drunk. Her estranged husband Gary (Tim Bray) died in 2007, potentially leaving her with custody of their son – Lachlan (Jonathan Mahon-Heap). Lachlan ended up with Gary's boyfriend and Brenda began drinking again. Following the spree of a serial killer dubbed the Ferndale Strangler, Brenda began investigating into a series of mysterious cardiac arrests linked to the killer. However, on Halloween 2007 when Brenda finally discovered the killer's true identity, he murdered her whilst dressed in costume.

Buddy Haanui

Buddy Haanui was portrayed by Antonio Te Maioha in three stints from 2006 to 2007. Whilst visiting his girlfriend Huia Samuels' (Nicola Kawana) marae, Craig Valentine (Renato Bartolomei) was shocked to learn Huia was once married to Buddy. The two had a moment and it looked like they were to reconcile, however Huia ended up leaving Buddy behind. Buddy was disgusted at Craig months later at Huia's funeral for how he had treated her. In 2007 TK Samuels (Benjamin Mitchell) visited his family and was shocked when Buddy suggested selling off parts of the marae to businessmen. In 2014 TK suggested Buddy as a pall-bearer at Sarah Potts' (Amanda Billing) funeral.

Kuini Samuels

Kuini Samuels was the disproving mother of Huia Samuels (Nicola Kawana) and the aunt of TK Samuels (Benjamin Mitchell). Kuini was disgusted in Huia for not returning to the marae and showed great gratitude towards TK for his input towards the Whanau's health. However Kuini was extremely sick and Huia's boyfriend Craig Valentine (Renato Bartolomei) diagnosed her with a growth and not cancer as she had feared. Later in the year at Huia's tangi Kuini expressed regret at the way she had treated her only daughter. In 2007 Kuini attended TK's wedding and got into a fight with her sister Liz Arthur (Rima Te Wiata) for the way she had treated TK. TK and his wife Sarah (Amanda Billing) visited Kuini in 2009 following their termination and Kuini revealed that before Huia, she had suffered two miscarriages. TK visited Kuini in 2010 to set up a clinic at the marae but the input of Brooke Freeman (Beth Allen) initially put stress on the idea but it turned out to be a positive movement on the whanau. Kuini visited again in 2011 and made it clear she thought TK was still in love with Sarah however several months later at TK's wedding to Roimata Ngatai (Shavaughn Ruakere), Kuini encouraged TK to go through with the ceremony. Kuini returned to Ferndale in August 2014 following Sarah's death. She helped organize the funeral and supported TK following his loss.

Ingrid Campbell

Dr. Ingrid Campbell was the strong willed surgeon who filled in for Chris Warner (Michael Galvin) whilst he was on sick leave. She clashed with Mark Weston (Tim Foley) and departed. Ingrid returned several months later when Chris planned to flee Ferndale and hired her as his replacement. She stayed until early 2007. Ingrid returned two years later as the temporary head of surgery following the murder of Ethan Pierce (Owen Black), and was quick to show her disgust at the wheel chair bound Tane Samuels (Dominic Ona-Ariki) getting hired. However the two soon bonded before Ingrid was replaced by Gabrielle Jacobs (Virginie Le Brun).

Sammy Diamond

Sammy Diamonds appeared for 3 episodes in August 2006. He was a singer on the cruise boat Yvonne Jeffries (Alison Quigan) was on and the two had a holiday romance. 3 years later Yvonne pretended her blooming romance with Ben Goodall (Shaun Edwards-Brown) was really a reconciliation with Sammy.

Holly Makatea

Holly Makatea was the receptionist at the General Practitioner clinic that TK Samuels (Benjamin Mitchell) worked at. TK was smitten by Holly but was shocked to discover she was a sex worker. Nonetheless the two began to date but TK discovered he had fallen in love with Sarah Potts (Amanda Billing) and broke it off. Holly returned in 2007 and sought out TK, making Sarah jealous. However it turned out Holly was after a STI check, fearing she had HIV. The results came back positive, devastating both Holly and TK, whom she had slept with.

John Grainger

John Grainger was the slimy CEO of dodgy pharmaceutical company – Scott Spear. John realised company employee Ant Richards (Michael Morris) was stealing from the company and attempted to blackmail him. The company later tried to murder Ant but accidentally killed Huia Samuels (Nicola Kawana) in a car bomb. John returned in 2008 when he sought out Craig Valentine (Renato Bartolomei) for a job at Scott Spear. However Craig discovered Scott Spear was dealing in dodgy drugs and Justine Jones (Lucy Wigmore) flirted with John and stole a ledger, detailing people Scott Spear had killed off. John returned in 2009 when he confronted both Justine's family before the trial of Scott Spear and showed optimism towards the charges. He later threatened Sophie (Kimberley Crossman) when he discovered Justine had faked her death. In 2010 Sarah Potts (Amanda Billing) stated that John had been imprisoned and was facing millions of dollars worth of penalties.

Callum McKay

Dr. Callum McKay first appeared in October 2006 and it was said he was to: "give the hospital a good shake up." In 2012 the character was axed, something which Peter Mochrie did not mind as he felt he was "coasting" throughout his final year and was missing his onscreen family.^[3] Despite hitting it off with Libby Jeffries (Fleur Saville), Callum was revealed as the husband of Justine Jones (Laurie Foell). The couple briefly separated when Callum discovered Justine (Lucy Wigmore) had an affair with Chris Warner (Michael Galvin). In 2008 Callum had an affair with Martha Riley (Jacque Drew) though he and Justine remained together. Callum became CEO of the hospital despite his dodgey business dealings with Ethan Pierce (Owen Black). His marriage to Justine fell apart when she faked her death and he had a short lived affair with Brooke Freeman (Beth Allen). He went on to date Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield) for several months before he lost his job after being manipulated by Shane Tucker (Jason Hood). In mid 2011 he scandalously began an affair with son Hunter's (Lee Donoghue) ex-girlfriend Jill (Natalie Medlock) before he got his job back. Callum was devastated when Hunter's drug addiction was revealed and Jill died as a result of a botched pharmacy break-in. In 2012 Callum resigned as CEO and took up a role heading the new drug rehabilitation programme so as to help Hunter. Following Hunters departure, Callum left in May left to reconnect with his children.

Fran Piper

Fran Piper was the eccentric mother of Alice (Toni Potter). She arrived in 2006 and attempted to start a business in Ferndale though her bipolar disorder soon became apparent and she ended up leaving.

Samantha Thomas

Samantha "Sam" Thomas made her first appearance in November 2006. A transsexual nurse, Sam was born a male but was known to the hospital staff as a woman. She engaged in poker matches with Yvonne Jeffries (Alison Quigan) and Grunter (Semu Filipo) against hospital rules. The matches were put to an end and the three were punished when Brenda (Katherine McRae) dobbed them in. In 2007 Sam returned when she and Yvonne made a pact to overcome their fears. Sam helped Yvonne overcome her fear of worms whilst Yvonne helped Sam overcome her fear of flying.

Sophie McKay

Sophie Juliette McKay (previously Mitchell) was the teenage daughter of Justine Jones (Laurie Foell) and Callum McKay (Peter Mochrie). She was portrayed by Kimberley Crossman until 2011 and again for a guest appearance in 2012 for the shows 20th anniversary. At first naive and superficial, throughout her time on the show Sophie developed into a student and a business woman, who by the end of her stint, was a widow to dodgy business man – Kieran Mitchell (Adam Rickitt).

Hunter McKay

Hunter McKay was the teenage son of Justine Jones (Laurie Foell) and Callum McKay (Peter Mochrie). He was portrayed by Lee Donoghue until March 2012. The character debuted as an intelligent jock, who bullied Scarlett Valentine (Nicole Thomson) to the extent that she attempted to murder him. His story lines saw him develop into a sensitive and hard working medical student. However Hunter's final storyline saw him develop an addiction to Crystal Meth that led to his departure.

Robyn Gardner

Robyn Gardner appeared in 4 guest stints from 2006 to 2009. At first Robyn investigated the fraud committed by Richard Minogue (Hamish Flynn). She was the head investigator of the Ferndale Stranglings and later harassed the lead suspect, Kieran Mitchell (Adam Rickitt). In 2008 and 2009 she investigated claims against dodgy drug company – Scott Spear and escorted Justine Jones (Lucy Wigmore) to court when a threat was taken against her life.

References