Storylines of Shortland Street (2011)

This article details the storylines of the TVNZ soap opera Shortland Street in 2011.

Highlights of the year

• The dramatic fire from 2010 leaves Callum with third degree burns, smoke inhalation and metal shards in his back giving him a small chance of survival.
• Maia, Yvonne and Jay Jeffries leave Shortland Street, ending a 7-year era and one of the longest running roles ever on the show.
• Rachel's brother Jonathon McKenna returns to the street after 15 years in order to have an operation which leaves him blind.
• After abandoning fiance Roimata at the altar to help ex-wife Sarah give birth, TK Samuels saves Hunter from his mangled car as it explodes.
• Brooke is stalked for several months by eager research assistant, Winston Youn which results in Brooke attempting to kill him by running him over.
• Over the course of the year, Hunter develops an addiction to Crystal Meth and is left with blood on his hands as the year ends, with Daniel bludgeoned with a crowbar and Jill stabbed and both lives at risk because of Hunter.

Storylines by month

January

• Shortland Street returned to TV2 on January 17, 2011. Chris Warner, Callum McKay, Rachel McKenna, Evan Cooper, Luke Durville and Tracey Morrison were all revealed to have survived the explosion and fire. However both Callum and Evan were in critical condition in hospital with little hope for Callum's survival.
• Scotty escapes Tracey and TK once again and continues to live on the run.
• Although crowned as a hero, Phoenix admits to Evan's parents he knew where Evan was when he was on the run, causing them to get angry.
• Evan gets charged with arson.
• Luke Durville reveals he was blindfolded throughout his whole kidnap ordeal leaving Isaac relieved.
• Jennifer realizes she has mutual feelings towards Maia and while Nicole is away, Jennifer and Maia unexpectedly start an affair.
• After being captured and taken into hospital, Scotty recovers, but fears he may hurt Tracey again, breaking it off.
• Roimata Ngatai arrives and catches TK's eyes with her great skills as a nurse
• Luke Durville shows his suspicions about his kidnapping; he links Isaac to it. Isaac and Brooke try to bring him down when Brooke 'acquires' morphine from the hospital and plant it in Luke's nasal spray, leading many senior staff to suspect Luke of a drug problem.
• After having sex with Jennifer, Maia admits to Nicole she is having an affair.

February

• Jennifer leaves Ferndale after realizing she had ruined Nicole's life.
• Evan yields to Murray's pressure and pleads guilty to a crime he didn't commit.
• Daniel's ex lover, Jill Kingsbury arrives much to the shock of Sophie.
• Maia, Yvonne and Jay leave Shortland Street.
• Vasa returns to work as Nursing Manager while Scotty is recovering
• Emotionally strained, Nicole kisses Maxwell and he kisses her back.
• Scotty and Tracey finally marry in a small Valentine's Day ceremony.
• Bella mistakes Isaac's manipulation for attraction and dumps Brodie to be with him.
• Hunter McKay starts a relationship with new nurse Jill Kingsbury
• Isaac is horrified as he realises the surgery will need to be completely re-done that means Chris can't give him the consultancy job now.
• Maxwell soon finds it impossible to keep his distance from Nicole and they kiss.
• TK and Roimata start dating.
• Callum is alarmed to witness Rachel sacking Sophie for the serious breach of confidentiality.

March

• TK is disgusted when ED closes overnight.
• Brooke Freeman sleeps with Larz and after he dies from a heart attack, she pockets his research and claims it as her own.
• Luke returns to Shortland Street and after confronting Isaac, Isaac severely injures himself and frames Luke.
• TK and Roimata admit their love for each other.
• Sarah returns to Shortland Street, pregnant with TK's child.
• Isaac is horrified to discover that Luke has drugged him, making him Luke's helpless captive.
• After Garth Worthington finds out the truth about Isaac's illegal dealings, Isaac attempts to murder his uncle, smothering him with a pillow.
• Daniel offers Sophie a spot at the flat, but is stunned when Sophie reveals she's decided to travel and breaks up with him
• Rachel acts without thinking, giving Harry a smack in retaliation to his childish behaviour. Shocked, Harry accuses Rachel of an illegal act.
• Sophie leaves New Zealand on her OE.
• Chris finally learns the truth about his cousin Isaac.
• Isaac flees to the Philippines only to discover his trust fund has once again been frozen.

April

• Harry presses charges against Rachel but later drops them.
• Gabrielle returns to the hospital.
• Hunter becomes an intern at the hospital alongside his rival Paige.
• Phoenix chooses Jasmine over Ula and the two start dating.
• Vasa kisses Murray.
• First episode on High Definition on April 18, 2011
• Jill's mysterious ex-boyfriend Regan Ames arrives.
• Murray and Wendy and the kids go camping for Easter and Wendy forgives Murray for kissing Vasa.
• Auntie Kuini challenges Sarah to fight for TK, who she believes loves her more than Roimata.
• Brooke gets a new research assistant named Winston.

May

• TK proposes to Roimata.
• Hunter begins to take ADHD medication and finds himself addicted.
• Callum McKay is sacked as CEO. Shane Tucker announces that he will take over the job in the interim.
• Rachel is fired by Shane Tucker after splitting Shane and Gabrielle up.
• Sarah is offered the 2IC position at Shortland Street.
• Hunter sleeps with Paige, causing him and Jill to break up.
• Rachel McKenna's older brother Jonathon McKenna returns to Shortland Street in order to persuade Gabrielle to perform high-risk surgery on his brain.
• Regan sets Brodie up with class A drugs, causing a drug lord to go after him and eventually causing Brodie to ditch the country to escape him.
• Gabrielle Jacobs performs surgery on Jonathon. However he comes out of the operation blind.

June

• Holden attempts to rape Ula.
• Shane Tucker stands down as CEO.
• Chris and Phoenix visit Southland to tend to Brian Raynor, who has injured himself on his farm. Phoenix loses his virginity.
• Tracey gets a fertility test done and finds she has low fertility.
• Nadia Hammett discovers Brooke slept with her husband and stole his research
• Gabrielle and Jonathon share a kiss
• Paige and Hunter attempt to deal with their drug addictions
• Regan does a runner after Daniel discovers Callum's bank account details and a keylogger program on Nicole's laptop.
• Nadia's wrecked car is found on the side of the road. Brooke begins to suspect Winston of murder.
• Callum and Jill share a kiss.

July

• Jonathon regains his ability to see.
• Callum McKay gets his job back as CEO
• Callum hunts down Regan and saves Jill from kidnappers. Regan soon gets arrested for his crimes.
• Phoenix and Jasmine hit a rough patch when Chris reveals Phoenix had sex with Suzy.
• Winston moves in with the Coopers.
• Gabrielle's estranged younger sister Lana arrives as new P.A for Callum.
• Callum and Jill begin an affair, which Hunter finds out about at TK's wedding.
• TK leaves his wedding to Roimata after hearing Sarah is in labour.
• Sarah, with Owen's help, gives birth to a healthy girl in an isolated field.
• Hunter and Brooke get in a huge car crash, breaking Brooke's wrist and seriously injuring Hunter
• TK and Daniel save Brooke and Hunter just in time as the car explodes into a fireball.
• Dr. Alexander Murphy arrives and Brooke is shocked to recognise him as a childhood friend.

August

• TK and Roimata reconnect in the Bay of Islands and marry in an unofficial ceremony.
• Sarah names her child Matilda "Tillie" Potts.
• Tracey learns she is pregnant.
• Scotty and Tracey leave Ferndale so they can adopt Kitu.
• Vasa replaces Scotty as nursing manager.
• Jill and Callum break up after Hunter convinces Callum that Jill is a gold digger. They eventually reconcille.
• Vinnie Kruse returns to the hospital after 5 years in England.
• Hunter leaves Ferndale for Dunedin in an attempt to get off the drugs.
• Luke Durville returns a new man, and attracts the attention of Vasa.
• Zlata Waldheim arrives.
• Mona McKay returns to visit Callum and is disgusted to learn he is dating Jill.
• Jasmine and Phoenix break up following the arrival of Suzy to Ferndale.

September

• Jasmine's heart stops beating and after being saved, it is discovered that she, Wendy and Bella all suffer from Long QT syndrome.
• Sarah thinks she is in remission following her MS scare, but is devastated when she has a massive attack, and decides to hand over custody of Tillie to TK and Roimata.
• Maxwell returns from being in Australia
• Winston gains a job as a nurse at Shortland Street.
• Everyone starts to worry about Jasmine's unhealthy fascination with death.

October

• The arrival of Dr. Bethany Hall has Nicole scared that Maxwell has been unfaithful.
• Bella realizes she is in love with Luke.
• Sarah is devastated when she thinks Tillie believes Roimata is her real mother.
• Mona flees the country to live with Callum's brother.
• After the death of Wendy's father, Jasmine, Evan, Phoenix and Ula believe they contact him from beyond the grave at Halloween.

November

• Jonathon makes a move on Daniel, only to be punched. He then decides to leave the country.
• Hunter returns from Dunedin and is shown to be actively using Crystal Meth.
• A violent side to Zlata's father Costel is revealed when he threatens Daniel.
• Luke realizes he is in love with Bella when she decides to leave New Zealand.
• Hunter steals Roimata's family heirloom to pay for his drug addiction.
• Ula starts to date new boy Tom and they soon have sex.
• Hunter fails his med school placement and starts a personal vendetta against Gabrielle.
• Evan suspects Tom of cheating on Ula.

December

• After getting trapped in a freezer, Luke and Bella admit their love for each other.
• Lana admits she has feelings towards Daniel, but leaves for a holiday without him.
• Brooke realizes she has a sister, Bree.
• Hunter brutally attacks Gabrielle and ends up failing his placement at the hospital.
• After Nicole saves Maxwell from a drunk in ED, the hospital receives a complaint of injury.
• Gabrielle admits she is in love with Chris.
• Ula realizes she is pregnant.
• Hunter and his drug-addict friend Bailey break into a pharmacy to steal drugs.
• Chris admits he is in love with Gabrielle and the two start an affair.
• Daniel and Jill hunt down Hunter, only for Daniel to get bludgeoned with a crowbar by Bailey and Jill to get stabbed by a nervous security guard.
• The 2011 season ends with a shot of Hunter crying for help.

Characters

All Year Cast Members

New Characters

• Roimata Ngatai - A new nurse and potential love interest for TK.
• Jill Kingsbury - Daniel Potts' ex-girlfriend who quickly forms a relationship with Hunter.
• Winston Youn- Winston is hired at Shortland Street as a personal assistant for Brooke, but there appears to be more than meets the eye in Winston's hard work ethic and admiration for her.
• Regan Ames- Jill's ex-boyfriend with a shady past who shows up wanting back into her life. Appeared for 3 months.
• Owen Sutherland - New consultant in ED, and replacement for Maxwell. Attended medical school with TK. Appeared for 2 months.
• Lana Jacobs - New Personal Assistant. Gabrielle's estranged younger sister.
• Zlata Waldheim - Luke Durville's Romanian fiancee who is also working at Shortland Street as a receptionist alongside Bella.
• Alexander Murphy - An auditor who came to assess Brooke's asthma trial. Eventually revealed to be a high school sweetheart of Brooke's and also Brooke's love interest.
• Bethany Hall - An Australian ED consultant currently working as head of ED.
• Nurse Bailey - ED Nurse
• Bree Hamilton - Brooke's long lost sister who got adopted out now working at Shortland Street as a surgical registrar.

Departures

• Jennifer Mason - Ditched town after realizing she had ruined Nicole's life.
• Yvonne Jeffries - Accepts a job offer by old friend Shobna Kumari to be a project manager in Sydney.
• Maia Jeffries - Goes to Sydney with Yvonne for a fresh start.
• Jay Jeffries - Goes to Sydney with mother Maia and grandmother Yvonne.
• Sophie McKay - Left to travel the world.
• Isaac Worthington - Fled the country after getting access to his trust fund.
• Brodie Kemp - Skipped the country after Regan Ames set him up with class A drugs.
• James "Scotty" Scott - Leaves with Tracey and unborn child to Timor to help adoption process of orphan, Kitu.
• Tracey Morrison - Left with Scotty, her unborn child and Kitu to Timor.

Returned Characters

• Shobna Kumari - Shanti's mother returned to visit Scotty and offer a job to good friend Yvonne.
• Leanne Miller - Nicole's mother. Arrived to visit Maia and Nicole in February and soon became the new receptionist at the hospital.
• Vasa Levi - Returned in February as Scotty's temporary replacement. Departed in May before returning in a more regular role in August.
• Gabrielle Jacobs - Returns to head the Neurological unit at Shortland Street.
• Jonathon McKenna - Returns after 15 years in May.
• Vinnie Kruse- Returns after 5 years in August.
• Mona McKay - Returns in August to stay with Callum and Jill.

See also