List of Shortland Street characters introduced in 1998
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street in 1998, by order of first appearance.
Damien Neilson
Damien Neilson was the identical younger brother of the villainous Darryl. Damien was created following the resignation of Angela Dotchin. Producers planned for Kirsty to leave the show with her true love and the obvious choices were Stuart or Darryl Neilson. There were however several issues, Henderson was busy, and Ferguson's character had been killed off as the result of a contractual dispute. Ultimately, Ferguson was brought back to the show as the only unseen brother in the Neilson family unit.In 1993, Damien rang his mother Marj and announced regret at not being able to attend father, Tom's funeral. In mid 1995 Marj informed Jenny that she was not close to Damien as he was the third child, and thus she didn't often speak of him. In 1998, Damien arrived at the clinic to a very shocked Kirsty Knight, whom Darryl had tried to rape several years beforehand. However, Damien and Kirsty bonded, and she realised he was vastly different from his deceased brother. The home for sexually deviant teenagers that Damien ran caught alight and Damien was seriously injured. He required intensive surgery in Wellington and Kirsty realised she loved him. The two departed Ferndale in early 1998.
Logan Patterson
Logan Patterson appeared in two stints throughout 1998. At first, Logan was a 15-year-old sexual delinquent, sentenced to spend time in a house run by Damien Neilson. Logan showed great progress but after the devastating fire that destroyed the house, Logan was not seen for several months. He returned in May having been fostered and sent to Ferndale High as a classmate of Shelley Crombie. The two initially clashed but soon started to date and Shelley fell pregnant. She aborted the child and Logan soon left school.Mark Shawn
Mark Shawn was the paramedic who replaced Donna Heka as Rangi's ambulance partner. A few weeks after Mark's arrival, several homes in the area began to get broken into and several elderly women were badly beaten. The evidence pointed to Rangi, and he fled. However, Donna soon discovered the real culprit was Mark and he was arrested.Earl Crombie
Earl Crombie was mentioned in dialogue for months before being introduced as the husband of Moira Crombie. Earl finally arrived at Ferndale from overseas during the clinic's talent quest but after the family fell into further financial strife, Earl was forced to move overseas for a job. The Crombies visited him for New Year 1999. Earl returned later in the year when his son Maddy was diagnosed with leukemia and shocked Moira when he purchased a fast-food caravan. However, the caravan was vandalized, and the relationship went on the rocks as Earl had not insured it. Even with the strained marriage, Moira was devastated when Earl died after a drink driving accident.Luke Billingham
Luke Billingham first appeared in mid-1998. He was the illegitimate lovechild of Lionel Skeggins and Judy Billingham who was born in the early 1980s. Lionel was shocked to discover he had a son but quickly bonded with Luke. Luke soon came into trouble for his frequent pornography use and eventually quit his habit. Lionel's girlfriend Mackenzie convinced Luke that Lionel did not want him, and he fled Ferndale, only to narrowly survive a severe bus crash. Mackenzie apologized and Luke returned to Ferndale. He began to date Josie Bergman but following the disappearance of Lionel, Luke began to get drugged and manipulated by his father's villainous and by now unstable wife - Mackenzie. Josie fell pregnant and after a brief breakup, the two married and left Ferndale. Several months later it was announced that Josie had given birth to a baby boy.Mackenzie Choat
Dr. Mackenzie Choat was the villainous psychiatrist who first appeared in mid-1998. Mackenzie began to date Lionel Skeggins but when she discovered Oscar had raped Minnie, Oscar framed her for fraud and Mackenzie lost her job. Oscar was found bludgeoned and an increasingly unhinged Mackenzie married Lionel before he realised she was the culprit and fled. Lionel went missing and was suspected dead, leading Mackenzie to desperately sleep with Frank Malone and drug Lionel's son Luke so he would stay with her. Caroline Buxton realised Mackenzie was Oscar's attacker and brought the comatose Oscar to the hospital to scare her. Mackenzie discovered the coma was fake and attacked Oscar, before exploding his hospital room and fleeing with the money he had stolen from the hospital. However, as she fled, Greg Feeney sneakily took the money, leaving her with nothing.In 2012, Park announced her intention to eventually return to the soap, so as to clear Mackenzie's villainous name. She stated, "what did she ever do that was so bad? So, she got rid of Oscar Henry, big deal. Heck, she was doing the world a favour. That guy was one bad egg."