List of Shortland Street characters introduced in 2012
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street in 2012, by order of first appearance.
Rose Moore
Rose Moore was Hunter McKay's drug councillor who witnessed him buying drugs in rehab and was forced to expel him. She was later hired by Callum to work at the Shortland Street rehab clinic and again became Hunter's councillor. However, when Hunter discovered Rose wanted to become a doctor, he became too attached to Rose and she quit so as not to hinder his drug rehabilitation.Hayley O'Neill
Hayley Jane O'Neill was the obsessive maths tutor of Phoenix Raynor. Hayley grew dependent on Phoenix's father Chris when her boyfriend Drew started to abuse her. She began to string Phoenix along romantically in pursuit of Chris and made out that Phoenix was stalking her. Hayley then began to manipulate the hospital staff and Chris' girlfriend Rachel into the belief that she and Chris were having an affair. After destroying Chris' family and professional life, Hayley returned to Drew only to be intensely beaten and found by Chris. She died from her injuries on 21 May and Chris ended up arrested for her murder.Hayley has been described as; "Shorty's most maddening, manipulative and terrifyingly psychotic character in ages" and the show's most compelling storyline of the year. Michael Galvin believed that Hayley was possibly the soap's most successful villain, citing the immense uproar she caused amongst viewers.
Marcel Fohn
Marcel Fohn was Harry Warner's best friend that was frequently mentioned but never appeared on screen until his single guest appearance in February 2012. Prior to his appearance, the show's writers would constantly write inappropriate jokes about him due to his constant references on screen. He was portrayed by Ethan Bai, the boy who featured prominently in the 2011 Rugby World Cup opening ceremony. Marcel appeared onscreen when Harry borrowed peanut butter off him so as to frame Hayley for putting it in Phoenix's sandwich, who was allergic. In 2014 Harry stated that he and Marcel were no longer friends as he was a "nerd" but nonetheless bid him farewell in December when the Warners planned to move country.Kronos
Kronos appeared in several guest stints in both 2012 and 2014. He was named after the cat owned by a relative of the shows head writer. Kronos was the household cat owned by Luke Durville. Luke's girlfriend Bella disliked the cat and Luke was shocked in February 2012 when he ate her pet mouse. He bought a substitute mouse in the hope Bella would not realise, only for Kronos to kill it as well. Brooke Freeman and her sister Bree later tried to kidnap the cat to scare Luke into moving out, only to fail after Kronos savagely attacked them. On Halloween 2014, Bella was shocked when Kronos arrived to the Cooper household, making her believe that Luke's spirit opposed to her engagement to Dallas Adams. Dallas clashed heavily with Kronos and matters came to a head when he had the cat neutered out of spite. Ultimately, Bella realised the presence of Kronos was too much of a reminder of the past and let Lucy adopt the cat.Drew Webster
Drew Webster was the abusive boyfriend of Hayley. Hayley fled Drew in March and he aggressively confronted her at the Warner mansion. Chris later tracked Hayley to his house, where Drew attacked him only to be knocked out by Chris' son Phoenix. Drew didn't lay complaints but continued to beat Hayley. The two broke up but Hayley returned to him several months later, only for him to beat her intensely and end up killing her. Chris was framed for the murder, but when Phoenix began to collect evidence on Drew, Drew kidnapped him and when threatened by police, he confessed to the crime and was arrested.Josh Gallagher
Dr. Josh Gallagher first appeared during the show's 20th anniversary, portrayed by Chris Tempest. He appeared until January 2014.Adam Vailalo
Adam Vailalo was the illegitimate son of the 16-year-old Ula Levi and Tom Stanton. He was adopted shortly after birth by Matt and Sue Vailalo. In 2013 Ula reunited with Adam when he came down with the flu under her job as a paramedic. Ula was shocked that Matt and Sue had separated and attempted to legally reclaim her child. Vasa managed to talk Ula around but ensured the adoption would become open for Ula to look after the baby.Jared Afeaki
Jared Afeaki made his first appearance in July 2012, portrayed by Beulah Koale. Koale had been contacted by a casting agent and upon auditioning, was offered the role the same day. Koale initially portrayed the role for a minor guest appearance before returning in a recurring manner and later having his contract extended. Jared departed on 28 May 2013. Jared returned in August 2014.Jared first appeared in early July when Phoenix Raynor tried to use his gang connections to retrieve a stolen car that could release Chris from prison. Jared struggled to accept the fact his father Gus had cancer and refused to leave his gang. However Jared started living with the Warner's but clashed with Rachel when he came under suspicion for the rape of Roimata. Following Gus' death, Jared struggled with the Warner life style and eventually moved in with Gus' lover, Vasa Levi and started to date her daughter Ula. However inadequacies in his lifestyle, lead Jared to break it off and pursue a career in the army out of Ferndale. Jared returned in August 2014 and announced his love to Ula. However, when Jared dramatically abandoned the army for her, it soon became apparent he was actually nervous about travelling to Afghanistan. Rachel talked Jared through it and he ended up leaving for service.