Pictures: Andi Crown.
It’s almost time for the next instalment of the new-look Shorty! As fans will know, the soap has been divided into four nail-biting “mini seasons” this year and Shortland Street: Back In Black, which kicks off on Monday 28 April, is bringing the drama, with the hospital in “code black” crisis mode.
Leading lady Ngahuia Piripi, who plays hospital boss Dr Esther Samuels, says the distinctive new cast shot (left)offers an idea of what to expect.
“It’s kind of giving hints as to what’s coming,” she teases. “But it’s a bit of mystery when you don’t have every single player in the photo – and everyone’s wearing black! It’s a surgeon’s world this time.”
Veteran star Michael Galvin, who has played Dr Chris Warner since the show began in 1992, agrees, “The focus really is on the medical drama and, for me, that’s all the surgery stuff, which I love. It’s fine for Chris to be an imperfect person, but not an imperfect surgeon.”
Michael, 58, reveals his character’s now in a mentor position, which he’s struggling to navigate.
“Chris is trying to keep people on track, helping them to find a balance between the natural arrogance of a surgeon, and the insecurity and fear of failure. It’s not easy for him!”
Ben Barrington, 48, who plays Dr Drew McCaskill, also finds himself at a crossroads, with his friends encouraging him to move on from his late wife Harper Whitley (played by Ria Vandervis), who died in last year’s cliffhanger, but he’s conflicted.
“He’s clinging dearly to Harper’s memory and that manifests itself physically,” he reveals. “He doesn’t want to have his leg operated on because the crutch that he’s had for the past few months is a metaphorical crutch as well. It’s a symbol of keeping Harper close to him in his day-to-day life.”
Meanwhile, with our favourite Ferndale hospital in crisis, we asked the stars of Shorty how they react when they’re under pressure.
“I try to step back,” says Michael. “Early on, when Shortland Street started, I also took on a couple of big theatre shows. I thought I could shoot during the day and then go do the show at night.
“It was just an absolute nightmare trying to race to the theatre after spending the whole day giving my heart and soul to something. Then I’d have to go on stage and do the same thing at night. That was pretty much breaking point. But I’ve learned from it and never done it since.”
For Ngahuia, 34, giving birth definitely pushed her close to the edge.
“I’d be an idiot if I didn’t say childbirth,” she laughs. “Because every mother would be like, ‘Didn’t you have a baby three times?!’”
Actor Jade Daniels, 45, who plays hospital shareholder Julian Jonas, felt terrified by the arrival of his first son.
“My wife started having contractions in the middle of the night,” he shares. “They started ramping up and her midwife told her to jump in the shower, then go to the birthplace. I went away to pack and when I came into the bathroom five minutes later, our son was on the bathroom floor. It was scary!”
Jane Wills, 28, aka Dr Phil Grayson, recalls, “I was once near someone who nearly drowned because they hit their head when they were diving into water. I had to help them, but that was before me pretending to be a doctor. I might be even better now that I’ve got some sort of fake knowledge!”
Both Ben and Michael reveal they’ve prevented people choking to death.
Ben performed the Heimlich manoeuvre at a café when someone was choking on Vogel’s toast.
“It was weird,” he explains. “I just put down my own cutlery, got up, calmly did the manoeuvre and food flew out!”
Meanwhile, Michael saved his daughter Lily’s life when she got spaghetti caught in her throat years ago. He says, “I just instinctively put my fingers in her mouth and pulled it out because I could see it hanging there. That did the job, thank God!”
Life sometimes does imitate art, adds Ngahuia.
“One time, I was there when somebody cut their foot really bad on the beach,” she says. “It was a huge gash from a quad bike. They thought I was a real doctor, so they asked me what to do!”
It’s something Mo Nasir, 28, who plays Dr Nazar Arshad, hopes will never happen.
He laughs, “If I’m the only help available, they’re better off if I do nothing!”
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