List of Shortland Street characters introduced in 2004
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street in 2004, by order of first appearance.
Sef Kruse
Sef Kruse was Vinnie's womanizing cousin. Sef briefly visited Vinnie in early 2004 before he was hired late in the year as a temporary replacement for Waverley Wilson on reception whilst she was on maternity leave. Sef was often seen accompanying Vinnie on nights out in the town and the two would often try to pull women with disastrous consequences. Sef was last seen in March 2005 when he and Vinnie tried to attract Tania Jeffries.Scarlett Valentine
Scarlett Valentine was portrayed by Nicole Thomson and appeared as a regular character for 3 years, returning in a guest role in 2008.A student at Ferndale High and daughter of Shortland Street Hospital doctor Craig, Scarlett was more interested in cricket and books than make-up and boys like the other students at her school. She was terribly bullied by the other girls including Tash Heremaia, not helped by her teenage rebel brother Jake. The arrival of Scarlett's mother Paula to Ferndale raised doubt as to whether Craig or his brother Brett were her true father - potentially passing on the gene for Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A DNA test proved Craig was her father, tightening their bond.
Scarlett soon found romance with Tama's cousin Eti Kawaka and despite a brief breakup following a car crash, the two enjoyed a teenage romance. However Eti departed to Japan, and Scarlett clashed with her father's partner Sarah Potts. She provided trouble for Craig when she made advances on his colleague TK Samuels, breaking into his house. Later she had a Summer romance with new boy Hunter McKay but this turned sour in the school year when Hunter and sister Sophie started bullying her. Driven to the edge, Scarlett stole Craig's car and drove at speed into Hunter. Arrested and awaiting trial, Scarlett departed to Australia to stay with her mother and brother. Scarlett returned in 2008 for her trial and after the extent of the bullying was unveiled, she was discharged and returned to Australia. Later in the year Chris Warner informed her of Craig's murder.
Jim Matheson
Jim Matheson was hired partway through 2004 by Tama Hudson and his girlfriend Shannon Te Ngaru to help out at the hospital cafeteria. In his spare time, Jim was an inventor, inventing odd knick-knacks, hoping to get them picked up to make a living. Upon his arrival to Shortland Street, Jim forged friendships with Sticky and Barb Heywood. However, Jim's darker side became apparent after being turned down for funding for his inventions. Coming home one night drunk and angry, Jim would rape Barb in her apartment. After being thrown out, it wasn't long before Barb revealed her rape to friend Judy Brownlee along with Sticky who would convince her to report Jim to the police. After getting into a fistfight with the usually timid and docile Sticky, Shannon would change her opinion after initially defending Jim and suspended Jim from his job. Not long after attempting to intimidate Shannon and being interrupted by Vinnie Kruse, Jim would be arrested and eventually plead guilty to rape. He would never be seen again.Siobhan O'Leary
Siobhan O'Leary arrived in mid-2004 as the new nanny for Harry, hired by his father Chris Warner. Chris was uneasy about Siobhan's attractiveness and she initially clashed with Harry's mother, Toni. The two soon became friends and it was not long before Chris and Siobhan began sleeping with each other. However Chris fell in love with Lucy Swinton and ended up dumping her. The following day Chris discovered a note from Siobhan, stating she had fled Ferndale.Siobhan Marshall auditioned for the role shortly after graduating and thought the fact that the character shared her name was destiny. She won the role and retained it for several weeks, however she struggled with the recognition on the streets, including an incident where the character was a called a "slut".
Craig Valentine
Craig Valentine is the old school friend of Chris Warner. He quickly became the head of ED at the hospital and clashed with many due to his fiery and, at times, moody personality. He was portrayed Renato Bartolomei until 2008.Tina-Anne Harrison
Tina-Anne Trinity Harrison was the daughter of Nick and Waverley Harrison, who was born on the shows 3000th episode. Nick nearly missed her birth but arrived just in time. She was named after Anne Kahu, whilst Judy Brownlee was named as her godmother and Sticky and Eltham Wilson her godfathers. Eltham saved Tina-Anne and her brother Lucas from a fire at their home in 2004. She departed alongside her family in March 2005. In 2022 Waverley and Lucas mentioned Tina-Anne as having started Lincoln University.Jay Copeland
Jessica "Jay" Copeland was the estranged daughter of Victor Kahu. She arrived in mid-2004 with her traveling partner – Maia Jeffries. However it soon became obvious the two were really lovers. Jay was portrayed by Jaime Passier-Armstrong until 2007.Maia Jeffries
Maia Anne Jeffries was the lesbian girlfriend of Jay Copeland. However Maia soon outlasted Jay and became an iconic character on the show, being involved in several high profile stories including the 2009 storyline where Maia confessed to having killed a man. She was portrayed by Anna Jullienne until 2011 and again in May 2012.Eltham Wilson
Eltham Wilson was the badboy cousin of Waverley Harrison. He arrived in August 2004 when Waverley named him as the godmother to her daughter Tina-Anne. He instantly got on the bad side of Waverley's husband Nick Harrison and Maia Jeffries. He soon fell head over heels in love with Maia but discovered she was a lesbian. Eltham began to work at the bar but Nick was horrified to discover that Eltham was dealing drugs from behind the counter. He also accidentally set the bar alight but was hailed a hero when he rescued Waverley and Nick's children – Lucas and Tina-Anne, from the blaze. In November he accepted a job offer in Taranaki and departed after a kiss from Maia.Malcolm Grieg
Malcolm Grieg made a guest appearance over 2 episodes in August 2004. The DHB made the controversial decision to hire the elderly Malcolm as the new CEO after Chris Warner was relieved of his position of CEO following the DHB becoming aware of his knowledge of the euthanasia Dr Geoff Greenlaw carried out on a patient. However Malcolm proved hugely ill prepared for the job and much of the staff believed he had died 3 years beforehand. Malcolm collapsed at his desk due to respiratory failure and after narrowly surviving, did not return to his role.Andrew Solomon
Dr. Andrew Solomon made his first appearance in mid-2004 as the new CEO of the hospital. Andrew's no nonsense attitude caused him to clash with the staff but many saw his lighter side when he began to date Sarah Potts and when his teenage sister Claire arrived. A roadblock appeared in the return of Andrew's ex lover Robyn Stokes who orchestrated a hit and run to win Andrew back, nearly killing him in the process. She revealed they had an illegitimate son who had died and used Andrew's confused state to sleep with him. Andrew and Sarah wed but Robyn returned and revealed she was pregnant with twins. Sarah and Andrew broke up and he eventually moved to England with Robyn and got a job as a doctor in the countryside. Claire informed Sarah on 21 March 2006 that the babies had been born. In 2007 Chris Warner rang him to inform him of Claire's murder.Rotondo was openly critical of the character and the show itself, labelling Andrew as the "most boring character in Shortland Street."