List of Shortland Street characters introduced in 2017
Shortland Street is a New Zealand television soap opera. It was first broadcast on 25 May 1992 and currently airs on television network TVNZ 2. The following is a list of characters that appeared on the show in 2017 by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Maxine Fleming. The 25th season of Shortland Street began airing on 16 January 2017 and concluded on 18 December 2017.
Mason Coutts
Mason Coutts, played by Colin Moy, made his first appearance in January 2017. Mason is Moy's third role on the show, having played David in 1995 and Brett Valentine in 2004.Mason is introduced as a new candidate for the role being Mayor of Ferndale. It later emerges that he is the father of troubled teen Jasper Coutts. He then meets Sass Connelly and the pair start a relationship much to the dislike of her half brother, Harry Warner. Mason later moves Jasper to Ferndale High after being expelled from his previous school, St. Barts. Sass starts to assist with Mason's campaign for Mayor with her attending events alongside him frequently. Their relationship becomes physical and the two sleep together. After having sex, Sass falls asleep. While she is asleep Mason makes a suspicious phonecall on a separate phone. Later on, Mason wins the campaign to become the Mayor of Ferndale and during celebrations it is revealed that Mason was arranging the murder and burial of corrupt Detective Brent Cochrane underneath the foundation of a new building. Soon after, the pair marry, much to the dismay of Sass's family. Their relationship takes a turn when Sass starts to annoy Mason's long time love affair who acts as his assistant. Sass becomes upset when Mason dismisses her, but he re-assures her that everything is OK. Eventually, it is revealed that Mason is the criminal mastermind behind the death of Glenn Rickman and covering up the murder of Hayden Crowhurst. Due to Mason's shady personality, TK Samuels starts to become suspicious of Mason. On the day of a volcanic eruption in Ferndale, Mason and Sass have a violent fight at their house. Sass hides from Mason, but he waits for her to come out. Sass later sees her brother Frank Warner laying on the floor and thinks he may be dead. Angry, Sass grabs a knife and stabs him. Sass's friend Hawks Logan turns up and comforts Sass. Mason begs Sass for help, but Sass refuses. Shortly afterwards, Frank wakes up and it is revealed he is not dead and Mason is treated for his injuries in Hospital. Mason is later sent to prison for his corrupt activity. In prison, he sends a gunman to shoot Frank and Sass's other brother Finn Connelly whilst Mason is on a boat with Jasper and Sass trapped after he escapes prison. They argue on board and Mason goes to throw Sass abroad but is interrupted by Jasper and gets injured. He suffers from his injuries and dies in Mason's arms. Mason blames Sass for his sons death and the pair have a physical struggle, Mason pulls Sass into the water and he reveals to her he sent a gunman to kill her family. Mason drowns and the boat sails away, leaving Sass in the ocean treading water.
Eve Reston
Eve Reston, played by Jess Holly Bates, made her first screen appearance on 17 February 2017.Unlucky in-love Boyd Rolleston was convinced to use a dating app by friend Drew McCaskill, and he was shocked when his one-night stand Eve was revealed as a new brain surgeon at the hospital. Adamant she was after a solely sexual relationship as she did not want to develop feelings, she propositioned Boyd to father children with her to create a perfect baby. Ultimately the two fell in love much to Eve's angst and she fell pregnant with twins. The hospital staff were shocked when deceased patient bodies started going missing and Eve lead speculation toward Deb Randal who was a recovering drug addict. Boyd began to notice suspicious behaviour in Eve and when following her one-day, discovered she was the body-snatcher, operating on the bodies out of her father's property where she was storing his brain. She sought to find medical miracles through researching dead patients. Eve pleaded with Boyd to keep her secret for their children's sake, but shortly after giving birth to their twin boys Remus and Romulus, she fled the country taking the babies with her.
In September 2018, Eve returned to Ferndale with her babies and pleaded with Boyd to operate as Romulus was ill. Boyd illegally organised the operation and operated on his son under an alias. Eve again fled the country but gave Boyd her contact details to ensure his children were safe. This was later rescinded when Boyd revealed this information to his policewoman girlfriend. In June 2020 Remus and Romulus were dropped to Boyd by a lawyer who informed him Eve was giving him full custody.
Eve later returned at the end of the year and abducted the twins.
Erin Landry
Erin Landry, played by Kayleigh Harworth, made her first appearance on 20 March 2017.Erin is a PHD student, studying computers and the daughter of a patient named Betty. Noticing the head of the IT department Damo Johnson was lonely, Leanne Miller set up Erin and him for a date. However the death of Betty lead Erin to accuse her doctor TK Samuels of ill-practice and dump Damo due to her unstable state. Erin returned several months later having secured an IT job at the hospital and resumed her relationship with Damo. However, when she discovered that Leanne and Damo had dated, she became incredibly manipulative, leading to Leanne leaking her health documents showing she was infertile. Ultimately Damo became uncomfortable with Erin but she kidnapped him, attacked Ali, and fought Leanne. She was arrested and found to be suffering from a psychotic mental illness. When she returned in 2018, and while she was apologizing to Leanne, she had abdominal pain. Initially thought to be feinting, Harper found out that she is actually in labour. When a baby boy was born, Damo was revealed to be the father. Leanne's stance softened when Erin became stricken with Postpartum depression. Leanne also confided in Nicole that Eric, Nicole's brother, became a schizophrenic, partly due to Leanne's neglect when she had her depression.
Erin returned again in 2022 and attempted to become close with Damo again while helping him track down an internet hacker known as "The Fiend", who had stolen Damo's savings. However, it was quickly revealed that Erin herself was The Fiend and she fled Ferndale, leaving her and Damo's son Donny in Damo's care.
Dawn Robinson
Dawn Joolinda Robinson, played by Rebekah Randell, made her first appearance on 14 June 2017. Dawn is a nurse and is portrayed as a cheerful, optimistic and wholesome person. She also is said to see the good in every situation of which her colleagues can find "alternately refreshing and extremely frustrating".Dawn, the eager newbie got offside with Sass Warner with her inane chatter and continued references to her boyfriend Dave.
She had joined the Followers Cult, fell in and out of love with Ali, she is currently a nurse and was GP's assistant to Dylan Reinheart. However, since Dylan made a move on her, their working relationship became awkward. After she left the cult, she also briefly worked as a female companion to sugar daddies so she can earn extra money. After the first stint failed while Ali was away, she tried to do that again when Ali is recovering from brain cancer tumour removal surgery. In 2018, Bryce, Dawn's father, suffered a stroke, so he only managed to attend Dawn and Ali's wedding as the Topp Twins Jools and Linda Topp, as Dawn's middle name was named after them) were about to ask to marry. Ali died in April 2019, leaving Lulu with no birth parents, Dawn also became a widowed single step-parent.
She had a relationship with Marty, but in 2022, Dave, her first love returned for her, while she was about to leave to return to Cambridge and return to tend to the family farm, she was rushed back in July 2022 when Damo was badly injured when he was hit by a bus. She was stood down to scrub in as a backup surgical nurse. Dawn would end up dating and bedding Scott, a member of the cult Brightshine towards the end of 2022. After realising she wasn't in love with Scott, she would get together with Logan Barns which would lead to Scott attempting to strangle Logan with a bread bag. After Logan was resuscitated, Logan and Dawn would start 2023 looking for Dawn's dog Barry who would be found at the end of January. After months of doing very little, when Dawn's best friend Jack Hannah decided to leave Ferndale, Dawn would first throw a tantrum and then decide to join Jack overseas, presumably quitting her job and dumping Logan in the process. It would be revealed, however that Dawn would return in mid-May that year.
On 10 November, 2025, Dawn returns to see Logan sitting on the couch, just as he tries to text to apologize to Poppy at Cleo's wake.
Gia Te Atakura
Joy Du Toit
Joy Du Toit has appeared in 2 different guest stints, portrayed by an unknown actress in 2017 and Charmaine Guest in 2025.Joy arrived to Shortland Street Hospital in mid-2017 to visit her son Sid, a dedicated rower who had been admitted with heart issues. When she noticed he was growing close toward Doctor Esther Samuels she immediately halted any progression of the relationship. Upset, Esther soon discovered that Joy was a university friend of her uncle TK Samuels, and that Sid was actually his illegitimate son. Joy pled with TK to keep the secret for Sid's sake, and the two departed Ferndale.
Several years later, TK contacted Joy in an attempt to reveal the truth to Sid, only to learn he had died 2 year earlier. However TK soon discovered that the new Doctor at the hospital, Gia Te Atakura was in fact Sid - who had transitioned to a transgender woman and been disowned by Joy. Having no contact with her mother, Gia later revealed to her colleagues that Joy was a bitter alcoholic who chose her transphobic husband Mark, over Gia's transitioned life.