List of Shortland Street characters (2015)

The following is a list of main and recurring characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street in 2015 (season 24). Characters are sorted by order of first appearance.

Victoria Anderton

Victoria Anderton
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Laura Thompson
Duration	2015–16
First appearance	11 March 2015
Last appearance	5 July 2016
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Occupation	Surgeon at Shortland Street Hospital.
Family Father Stuart Anderton

Victoria 'Tor' Anderton first appeared in March. She arrived to Shortland Street Hospital as part of a surgical exchange program and reconnected with old-colleague, Boyd Rolleston (Sam Bunkall). Victoria's father tragically died and after initial sparks with Garrett Whitley (Spencer Falls), Victoria developed feelings for married father Mo Hannah (Jarod Rawiri) after treating his daughter Pixie Hannah Thomasin McKenzie). In March 2016 it was revealed that Victoria shot Drew McCaskill (Ben Barrington). After framing Mo's wife Margaret for the attempted murder of Drew on top of her actual fraud, Victoria throws herself into a relationship with Mo, much to the chagrin of Mo's son Curtis (Jayden Daniels). In April 2016 when Margaret Hannah (Debbie Newby-Ward) returns, Victoria would try and kill Margaret by blowing up her caravan while in the midst of faking a pregnancy to keep Mo in a relationship. Once that fails, Victoria attempts to get Curtis sent to prison by drugging his food. When Curtis passes a drug test due to interference from his brother Jack, Victoria's plans begin to unravel as Jack and his friend Blue Nathan (Tash Keddy) side with Curtis. Ali Karim, who at the time was staying with the Hannahs revealed that Victoria hadn't worked at Central as she had claimed she had been while the Hannahs were visiting Margaret around this time as well. Victoria would then resort to desperate measures by taking a syringe full of Drew's discarded blood from an attempted blood transfusion and injecting it onto Curtis' hospital scrubs. After some detective work from Jack and Blue, Harper Whitley, then the acting CEO of the hospital in the absence of Rachel would beome suspicious of Victoria. Cornered and interrogated, Victoria admits to her crime of shooting Drew to a shocked Harper. In July 2016, alone and desperate after finally admitting her crimes to Mo, Victoria takes off in a car to avoid arrest. Coming across two children, Victoria swerves and crashes into a tree, succumbing to her injuries upon admittance to hospital . Victoria was portrayed by Laura Thompson.^[1]

Jimmy Isaac

Jimmy Isaac
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Joel Tobeck
Duration	2015–16
First appearance	24 March 2015
Last appearance	3 March 2016
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Occupation	Singer/Songwriter; Duty Manager of The I.V. Bar
Family Sons Kane Jenkins Daughters Danya Jenkins Stevie Isaac

Jimmy Isaac first appeared in late March. In early 2014, Murray Cooper (Matt Chamberlain) contacted Jimmy and was given permission to foster his son Kane Jenkins (KJ Apa). The following year, Jimmy made contact with Kane and suspiciously transferred him a large sum of money before arriving to Ferndale to claim it. After finishing his career as a famous musician, Jimmy began work behind the bar at 'The I.V.' and started an ilicit romance with Kane's foster sister, Bella (Amelia Reid-Meredith), leaving her pregnant. Kane's sister Dayna (Lucy Elliott) was shocked to discover Jimmy was her father too after a paternity test and in the subsequent weeks, Jimmy and Bella broke up following an affair. Bella gave birth to the couples daughter Stevie Isaac and Jimmy committed to being the best father he could. In early 2016 he was offered the opportunity to pick up his music career and after initially declining to spend time with his daughter, Bella convinced him to take the job. Jimmy departed Ferndale in March.

Jimmy is portrayed by Joel Tobeck. It is Tobeck's second role on the show, having previously portrayed Craig Develter in 1995–96.^[2]

Pixie Hannah

Pixie Hannah
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Thomasin McKenzie
Duration	2015
First appearance	25 March 2015
Last appearance	24 August 2015
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Former; recurring
Family Father Mo Hannah Mother Margaret Hannah Brothers Curtis Hannah Jack Hannah Aunts Kiri Hannah

Pikitea Rose "Pixie" Hannah first appeared in late March as part of the Hannah family unit, and is portrayed by Thomasin McKenzie.^[3] Pixie was the 13-year-old sister of Jack Hannah (Reuben Milner) and a talented football defender. After initially clashing with fellow footballer Harry Warner (Reid Walker), the two became good friends and began to date. During football practice, Pixie collapsed and it was discovered she had bone cancer (specifically Ewing's sarcoma) in her right leg, leading to treatment. Controversy struck when Pixie's brothers, Jack and Curtis (Jayden Daniels) fed her marijuana brownies as pain relief. Following two large surgeries, the tumour was removed and Pixie entered remission. To celebrate her 14th birthday, Pixie went away on holiday with the Warners but after helping Harry get out of a dangerous river, she developed pneumonia as a result of her chemotherapy-suppressed immune system. Whilst hospitalised and suffering breathing problems, Pixie confessed her love to Harry and died, surrounded by her family. While Pixie died on 19 August 2015, McKenzie continued to appear until 24 August as Pixie's body.

McKenzie briefly reprises her role as Pixie in a web-exclusive episode following the 2015 Christmas cliffhanger, during which father Mo has a near-death experience and talks to Pixie.

McKenzie is a second-generation Shortland Street actor as the daughter of Miranda Harcourt,^[4] who has played many recurring roles including as Madeline Trent in 2000 and as Susan Rolleston (the mother of Boyd Rolleston) in 2013.

Alex Dean

Alex Dean
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Richard Osbourne
Duration	2015
First appearance	2 April 2015
Last appearance	3 August 2015
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Occupation	Physiotherapist at Shortland Street Hospital
Family Sisters Clementine Dean

Alex Dean first appeared in early April. Alex arrived to the hospital as the new physiotherapist, instantly attracting the attention of Lucy Rickman (Grace Palmer). It soon turned out receptionistl Clementine Dean (Karima Madut) was his adopted sister. Alex and Lucy began to date but Nicole Miller (Sally Martin) discovered that Alex had just left a same-sex relationship. When Lucy and Clementine discovered this, they encouraged Alex to come out to his family, even though this left Lucy emotionally vulnerable after falling for him. Following an assault on Clementine that left her paralysed, the siblings moved to Christchurch for a paralysis unit.

Alex was portrayed by Richard Osbourne.^[5]

Mo Hannah

Mo Hannah
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Jarod Rawiri
Duration	2015–
First appearance	10 April 2015
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Present; regular
Family Father Rocky Hannah Sisters Kiri Hannah Wife Margaret Hannah Sons Curtis Hannah Jack Hannah Daughters Pixie Hannah

Moutere "Mo" Hannah first appeared in mid-April, portrayed by Jarod Rawiri.^[6][7] He is the father of Jack, Pixie and Curtis Hannah. While mentioned earlier, he first physically appeared when Pixie was taken to Shortland Street after collapsing during football practice. He initially got the job over Caleb for a role as ER helper, but assumed the role after Caleb died. In 2016 Margaret is framed by Victoria Anderton, the actual shooter of Drew on top of her theft from the Plastics Unit. Much to the chagrin of his son Curtis, once Margaret becomes a fugitive and goes on the run, Mo begins a relationship with Victoria. Later in the year Mo becomes friends with new nurse Kate Nathan (Laurel Devinie) who helps Mo attempt to upskill. Mo and the boys go camping in April after Victoria fakes a pregnancy to keep Mo at her side. Mo finds his sons with the fugitive Margaret. After convincing Margaret to turn herself into the police for her fraud, Mo returns to Victoria who fakes losing her baby to complete her con. Not long after this, Mo discovers Victoria is indeed guilty of shooting Drew and deliberately manipulating his family. When Victoria tries to escape from Mo when he attempts to phone the police, Victoria crashes her car into a tree and ends up dying of her injuries in hospital after telling Mo she always loved him.

Curtis Hannah

Curtis Hannah
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Jayden Daniels
Duration	2015-2016
First appearance	4 May 2015
Last appearance	1 November 2016
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Former; Regular
Profile
Occupation	Bartender/Waiter/Caterer, Underground cage fighter, Drug dealer, Crime accomplice, ER Orderly/Helper
Family Father Mo Hannah Brothers Jack Hannah Sisters Pixie Hannah

Curtis Hannah first appeared in early May. He is the eldest son of Mo Hannah and brother to Jack and Pixie. He works in I.V. Bar, but it never pays enough, so he had done underground jobs as a cage fighter and he tried to sell Pixie's regular medication for marijuana for her medicinal use, but he and Jack once ate the brownies that made them extremely intoxicated, which got them evicted from the original house. They also had marijuana found in The Warner's house, which got Victoria suspended. Out of guilt, Chris Warner paid rent for the upstairs room in the I.V. Bar so the Hannahs can stay. He briefly dated Dayna Jenkins (Lucy Elliott) but it only lasted a few months, especially when Dayna found out that he had an affair with her flatmate, Lucy Rickman. After Pixie died, he launched a heated vendetta against Chris Warner, the last person to perform CPR on her. But Chris decided not to press charges, yet, when Curtis was caught driving with a stolen car, Chris got a plea bargain, and Curtis was on probation, and became an ER helper with his dad. However, he returned to hang out with his friends in the gang as an accomplice/driver to several break-and-enters. In 2016, he admitted to shooting Drew McCaskill and destroyed video evidence, but it was all to protect his mother. In June 2016 Curtis was drugged by Victoria so he would be in the way of her and his father relationship he was then framed by Victoria for shooting Drew after Victoria planted Drew's blood on his work clothes so he was arrested then release after she confess and after died in a car accident ending months of horror. Also in 2016 he then enter a relationship with house officer Esther Samuels after his relationship with Lucy Rickman ended earlier this year Esther and Curtis break up after she in a relationship with Dr Finn Connelly but still wants to be with her. In 2016, he was in custody for perverting court of justice and breaching bail conditions, but was released after Victoria Anderton was found to had shot Drew, and she subsequently died from a car accident. He was locked up to serve out his arrest warrants, by covering up for Jack and Cam, he was incarcerated for 5 years for drug possession after Cam's dealer was killed in an overdose. He was later mentioned to had been transferred to Invercargill, and was accepted to study Criminal Science while incarcerated.

Curtis was portrayed by Jayden Daniels from mid 2015 to late November 2016.^[8]

Damo Johnson

Damo Johnson
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Grant Lobban
Duration	2015—
First appearance	11 May 2015
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Present; Regular
Profile
Occupation	IT Technician at Shortland Street hospital

Damien Alex Heath "Damo" Johnson appeared in 2 recurring stints throughout 2015, portrayed by comedian Grant Lobban. Damo first appeared in May when hospital receptionist Clementine (Karimu Madit) was attempting to sell flatmate Kylie's (Kerry-Lee Dewing) dresses online. Damo mistook this for online dating and paid $600 for a date, only to be rebuffed by Kylie. He reappeared 5 months later when he developed a feud with Chris Warner (Michael Galvin) over the resetting of an internet password, that saw Chris' friend Mo (Jarod Rawiri) threaten him. Mistakingly believing Mo was in a gang, Damo retaliated by hacking Chris' system and sending porn to his family and colleagues. After again misinterpreting a talk from Mo, Damo apologised and gifted Chris a new computer and laptop.

Damo was well received online following the airing of his episodes; following his first appearance, Shorty Street Scandal satirically named Damo and Kylie as the "Hookup of the week".^[9] Following Damo's later appearance, The Spinoff writer Tara Ward gave him the "Shortland Street power ranking" of number 1 of the week, calling the character "batshit crazy" and suggesting the show was better for it. She concluded her review by suggesting, "Damo for Prime Minister".^[10]

In 2017, Damo has saved a dog by performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Damo's disregard for authority later meant he was demoted to be under Leanne, Damo's lack of success in dating, and his 'demotion' left him shattered, and has gone AWOL from Shortland Street, shutting down the online booking and computer system and the radiology booking system before leaving.

When he returned he had two relationship stints with Leanne, but his selfish personality was slowly changed when he save Chops, Vinnie's neighbour's dog during the volcanic eruption, and he also acted as Ali's daughter's guardian after Ali is stricken with grief over Lucy's death, and avoided her.

Margaret Hannah

Margaret Hannah
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Debbie Newby-Ward
Duration	2015–16
First appearance	21 July 2015
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Current; recurring
Profile
Occupation	Nurse
Family Sisters Elizabeth Forsythe Husband Mo Hannah Sons Jack Hannah Curtis Hannah Daughters Pixie Hannah

Margaret Hannah first appeared in late July 2015, portrayed by Debbie Newby-Ward.^[11] Margaret was the wife of Mo Hannah (Jarod Rawiri) and the mother of Curtis (Jayden Daniels), Jack (Reuben Milner) and Pixie (Thomasin McKenzie). Whilst Mo, Pixie, and Jack lived in Ferndale, Margaret was the primary money earner, living in Australia with Curtis. Mo announced that Margaret planned to return when Pixie was diagnosed with cancer but was arrested for embezzlement, which the family assumed she was covering for Curtis. In July She arrived to Ferndale having been released from jail. She landed a job at the hospital but the stress of Pixie's cancer and subsequent death lead her to start embezzling money from the plastic surgery clinic. Victoria Anderton (Laura Thompson) and Drew McCaskill (Ben Barrington) discovered her fraud and when Drew was found with several gunshots in his back, Margaret was the prime suspect. She fled Ferndale, only increasing the suspicion on her, leaving Mo and Victoria to start a relationship. She returned in May, when Mo, Jack and Curtis are on a camping trip and decided to turn herself in for embezzlement.

Margaret is Newby-Ward's second role in the show, having previously portrayed Nicola Halley in 1996.

Drew McCaskill

Drew McCaskill
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Ben Barrington[12]
Duration	2015—
First appearance	28 July 2015
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Present; regular
Profile
Occupation	Plastic Surgeon, Interim Manager of I.V., Acting CEO of Shortland Street Hospital

Drew McCaskill made his first appearance on 28 July 2015 as a new surgeon at Shortland Street. First seeming to be a shameless flirt with no respect for women, Drew would form a close friendship with Kylie Brown after Kylie was assigned his nurse in the Plastics unit at the hospital. Drew would become unsettled when his ex-wife Virginia would crash her way back into Drew's life in late-2015. After seemingly sending her packing, Virginia would start stalking Drew in September but was quickly sent packing once the two began talking and they finally split up on better terms.

Drew was shot twice during the 2015 Cliffhanger Episode by angry father Gareth Hutchins after Drew performed breast surgery of his daughter Millie. Later in the episode Drew was shot again by a mystery shooter, revealed to be Victoria Anderton in 2016.

Drew came out of his coma and was on strong pain relief early in 2016, and discharged from Shortland Street Hospital.

In March 2016 he botched Kylie's mastectomy. In June–July, 2016, he is covered Boyd Rolleston's Fentich Polymer trial and spy accusations, and in July 2016, it was revealed that he has a younger brother, Cam, a vastly experienced chef, however, given Cam's history with cocaine addiction and money laundering, Cam was demoted to a cafe staff at the IV cafe, until he had proven clean three months later. Drew would eventually be joined in the plastics unit by Chris's son Finn, who was also an experienced surgeon. After a long, tenuous period of tension, Drew and Harper would get together and become engaged in late 2016-early 2017.

Drew and Harper would take in Harper's wayward cousin Ashley after Ashley accidentally killed her mother in a crash in May 2017, with Drew and Ashley clashing. While they reconciled in June. Drew became the acting CEO of Shortland Street after Chris Warner is no longer capable to carry out his duties due to his leukemia treatments.

Ali Karim

Ali Karim
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Tane Williams-Accra
Duration	2015–
First appearance	22 September 2015
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Present; regular
Profile
Occupation	Ambo Recruit, Paramedic, Pizza Delivery, Piggyback driver
Family Father Aziz Karim Mother Naila Karim Wife Lucy Rickman 2016-2017) Daughters Lulu Karim

Ali Karim made his first appearance on 22 September 2015 as the new ambulance recruit at the hospital where he meets Lucy Rickman after bringing a patient into ED, after which he would injure his leg and end up in hospital himself later that day. After moving in with Dayna and Lucy, Lucy and Ali would end up in a relationship. In order to pay for a traditional wedding, Ali would take up an extra job as a Piggyback driver with his friend Curtis Hannah.

Ali's relationship with Lucy would cause many problems with his family, his father disowning him and tension arising between Ali and his mother. Eventually, however, Ali would gain their blessing and he and Lucy would wed, with Lucy becoming pregnant late in 2016. Ali would sustain a head injury in the 2016 finale and end up in a wheelchair. In his recovery, Ali would exhibit explosive, erratic behaviour due to brain trauma, frightening Lucy. However, with the help of Frank Connelly and new flatmate Esther Samuels, Ali would make a full recovery in 2017. Lucy and Ali would find themselves caught in traffic during the Ferndale Volcano Eruption of 2017. Lucy gave birth in the car to their daughter but unfortunately would suffer from a ruptured uterus while giving birth. Rushed to Shortland Street, Lucy would find herself in the care of Dr Finn Connelly. While appearing to stabilize at first, Lucy would tragically die only hours after giving birth. Upon learning the news, Ali became withdrawn and angry, and stopped bonding with his daughter, and refused to name her.

Ali is portrayed by Tane Willams.^[13]

Millie Hutchins

Millie Hutchins
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Brittany Clark
Duration	2015–16
First appearance	7 October 2015
Last appearance	18 January 2016
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Former ; recurring
Family Father Gareth Hutchins

Millie Hutchins made her first appearance on 7 October 2015 portrayed by Brittany Clark.^[14] She was a patient of Drew McCaskill who wanted a breast implant. However, it was discovered that she was underage (15) after she had an injection in her breast. She had the surgery but then her father Gareth blames Drew for it. She returned a couple of months later at Drew's apartment wanting a place to stay to get away from her father which Drew accept her to stay for one night. In 2015 Season Finale Millie returned to calm her father down after he holds hostages in the cafe. However, in 2016 Gareth was shot dead by the Armed Squad and she was asked to identify the body. She later apologised for what her father had done and leaves.

Esther Samuels

Esther Samuels
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Ngahuia Piripi
Duration	2015–
First appearance	14 October 2015
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Present; regular
Profile
Occupation	House Officer, ED Doctor, GP
Family Sisters Anahera Samuels Grandmothers Mareikura Samuels Uncles Wiremu Samuels Mitch Samuels Aunts Kuini Samuels Dottie Samuels Miri Samuels Liz Arthur First cousins Huia Samuels TK Samuels Tane Samuels Rua Potae Other relatives Wiremu Potae Tillie Potts

Esther Samuels made her first appearance on 14 October 2015, portrayed by Ngahuia Piripi.^[15] She is the new house officer at the hospital and the niece to TK Samuels and cousin of Tillie Potts she arrives at TK's house unaccounted after looking for a place to stay after she contacted TK's partner Kylie Brown. She has a morbid fear of needles, both giving and receiving needles which causes her to faint and ineffective at her job, but would fail her ER rotation if she does not overcome her fears. Esther has revealed in 2016 that she was in a relationship with a man who is in jail, so she knows how to spot cops and help Curtis get under the radar. In early 2016 Esther has a fling with Curtis Hannah unaware he was in a relationship with Lucy Rickman then they ended there fling months laters that they when enter a relationship but after he wents into trouble they when break up when she starts a relationship with newcomer Dr.Finn Connelly. They eventually broke up, but has found herself in a relationship with Curtis Hannah, seeing they are more compatible. When Curtis was incarcerated, however, Curtis broke up with her to save her from negative rumours.

In early 2017, she was supporting TK Samuels, who had to come to terms of being a murderer, having killed Hayden after trying to save Kylie from him.

On 22 February, 2017, Esther was later revealed to suffer from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, having nearly collapsed after performing prolonged CPR on an old patient who was dying from the same disease. Chris Warner is trying to move her to non-intensive department of ED to keep her job while making her job less physically demanding.

In June, 2017, Esther is medically cleared to return to work in ED under conditions that her hours are limited to day shifts only.

George Kirkwood

George Kirkwood
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Arlo Gibson
Duration	2015–16
First appearance	20 October 2015
Last appearance	3 June 2016
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	Former; recurring
Profile
Occupation	Labourer, Medical School Graduate, Volunteer Doctor, Intern Doctor at Infectious Disease Center, Junior Doctor (ER Department)
Family Wife Dayna Jenkins (2015–)

George Kirkwood first appeared on 20 October 2015, portrayed by Arlo Gibson.^[16]

George is as a love interest for Dayna Jenkins. He arrived in Ferndale after going into a hardware store where he meet Dayna however it was cut short when she accidentally cause an accident at the store when she knock someone off at ladder. However, before she can thank him he disappears. A week later, he arrives at The IV and caught up with Dayna again. They start to fall for each other and begin to date. He revealed that he studied medicine in England, and worked in a Clinic of Infectious Diseases in London, but works as a labourer in Auckland on a casual contract. While they were engaged shortly after, George had to return to England for her mother's wedding, but as the flight was first deferred to Christchurch, he had never been heard from, much to Dayna's anguish. When he returned from a one-month stint as a 'Doctor Without Borders' in Nepal, Dayna and George got married on the back of Harper and Boyd's cancelled wedding on the 2015 Cliffhanger. They found out days later about the shooting that led to the cancelled wedding, and Len and later Wendy's passing.Since Dayna revealed that she is broke after her renovations to the IV, he scored a short-term role as a labourer with his old company before Dayna recommended him as a junior doctor (no specialty) for Shortland Street, having saved Jasmine Cooper after she collapsed at the Coopers, suffering from dehydration. As it turns out, she caught yellow fever on top of an insect bite in Columbia on the plane to Auckland, making her jaundiced, and liver function compromised. He has heard of Boyd Rolleston's articles after he performed the surgery on Stevie. Dayna has asked Chris Warner and Rachel McKenna for a role for George in the hospital. He became a junior doctor in the ER department, and mentored by TK Samuels. In March 2016, it was discovered that George had been forging his qualifications as a doctor. Being blackmailed by his cousin Leo, who also revealed George's real name was Rupert, George began to crack under pressure. After being discovered by Dayna, George would panic and continue to practice while being pressured by his wife to quit. Finally doing the right thing, George resigned without giving the actual reason and he and Dayna fled to England. Lucy would discover their ruse but would keep their secret as they left New Zealand for good in May.

Gareth Hutchins

Gareth Hutchins
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Jarrod Martin
Duration	2015–2016
First appearance	21 October 2015
Last appearance	18 January 2016
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	former; recurring

Gareth Hutchins first appeared on 21 October 2015, portrayed by Jarrod Martin.^[17]

Gareth arrived in Ferndale after finding out that surgeon Drew McCaskill performed an illegal operation on his underaged daughter Millie. He started to threaten Drew after he performed surgery on his daughter, threatening to go to a higher power if need be. Afterward, Gareth attempted to blackmail CEO Rachel McKenna to sell his dodgy medical equipment. After several doctors reported problems with the equipment, Rachel told Gareth she was terminating the supply contract causing Gareth to destroy her office in a rage, leading to Gareth being escorted off the premises and being issued a trespass notice. Unbeknownst to Rachel, Gareth stole a security access card before being removed. Gareth would attempt to return several other times and was involved in several more incidents with hospital staff before Millie revealed to Drew after being beaten by her father that Gareth had an addiction to Methamphetamine and alcohol and was using again, which was causing his unstable state of mind. In December, Gareth decided to enact his revenge against Drew by sneaking into the hospital, after which he knocked out a security guard. Gareth made his way to Drew's exam room and shot him twice, leaving him for dead. After which, Drew took Kylie Brown hostage. However, Kylie would escape, and in a fit of rage, Gareth stormed into the hospital cafeteria and held Jack Hannah , Mo Hannah , Murray Cooper , Wendy Cooper and Bella Durville and her newborn Stevie and Leanne Miller and Boyd Rolleston and Len Cooper hostage. Len would confront Gareth which led to Len being shot to death. After which, Gareth tried to get Bella to hand over Stevie to use as a bargaining chip. After Bella refused, Mo and Vinnie Kruse used the distraction to attempt to disarm Gareth. Shortland Street finished 2015 with shots fired without revealing who was hit. It was revealed in the first episode of 2016 that Murray Cooper and Wendy Cooper were shot, with Murray receiving minor injuries to his shoulder. Wendy however would pass out and eventually die after being taken off life support. Gareth was revealed to have been shot dead by the Armed Offenders Squad.

Virginia McCaskill

Virginia McCaskill
Shortland Street character
Portrayed by	Serena Cotton
Duration	2015-2016
First appearance	26 October 2015
Last appearance	July 2016
Introduced by	Simon Bennett
Classification	former; recurring
Profile
Occupation	Personal Assistant
Family Husband Drew McCaskill (until 2015)

Virginia McCaskill made her first appearance on 26 October 2015, portrayed by Serena Cotton.^[18] She is the ex-wife of Drew McCaskill. She arrived in town to see her husband for a divorce and she stole his new car. Later on, they made up and decided to have a clean fresh start. A few days later, Rachel McKenna was looking for a temp PA after Bella Durville is on maternity leave after giving birth so she offered Virginia for the job much to the surprise to Drew. She decided to leave after Bella's daughter, Stevie recovered from her surgery, having confronted by McCaskill to formally sever ties. She threw a flower pot at Drew (and missed) after he tried to send money to her for her break.

After counselling, she is in amicable terms with Drew, and sent him home after he is discharged from hospital, but is no longer working for Shortland Street. In 2016, she became a PA for Fentich, a medical research company.

Others

Date(s)	Character	Actor(s)	Circumstances
July – October	Edwin Daley	Maxwell Apse[19]	Edwin is Jack Hannah's ex Boyfriend and Maths tutor.
21 August –	Trent Wagoner	Kevin Tansey	Trent is a convicted sex offender and prisoner who is admitted to Shortland Street after a prison fight, to the torment of Victoria Anderton.
September 9, 2015 – 19 April 2016	Norelle Brown		Norelle is the mother of Nurse Kylie Brown, Norelle arrived at Shortland Street hospital who was waiting surgical reception where she was encouraged by Margaret Hannah to get plastic surgery it was later revealed she was Kylie's mum. She later has a fling with surgeon Dr.Drew McCaskill however he decides to end their fling, which devastated her. In 2016, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and needed mastectomy, but is unable to cope with the surgery because her aunt also died from the same illness in just 6 months. In April 2016 Norelle committed suicide at home after she swallowed a lethal drink because she didn't want to die on cancer.
12 October – 2 November	Stevie Isaac	Biance Murray Ruby Pateman	Stevie is the newborn daughter of Bella Cooper and Jimmy Isaac. She is named after singer and songwriter Stevie Nicks. She suffered from a collapsed trachea, but was saved by Boyd Rolleston after he made a bio-degradable stent for her with his 3D printer, the first operation done in New Zealand. She requires another surgery to deal with her reflux, separate from her tracheal stent. She was later moved to Raglan to live with Jimmy after Bella suffered from stress.

References