Shorty St 20th birthday bash
SHORTLAND Street stars from past and present dazzled fans as they graced the red carpet to celebrate the TV soap’s 20th anniversary.
Champagne was served and stilettos clicked across the floor as our most well-known ‘‘doctors’’ and ‘‘nurses’’ partied at Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre on Friday night.
Some characters even rose from the Shortland Street grave for the lavish affair, including Carmen (Theresa Healey) and Shanti (Nisha Madhan).
Our most famous mumsy receptionist Marj, played by Elizabeth Mcrae, also returned for the party.
Present-day stars scrubbed up for the event as well, such as Gerald Urquhart (quirky anaesthetist Luke Durville), Beth Allen (Dr Brooke Freeman), Shavaughn Ruakere (nurse Roimata Ngatai) and Sally Martin (nurse Nicole Miller).
More than 200 people gathered at the celebration, drinking champers and gossiping over plot twists spanning two decades.
TVNZ drama commissioner Kathleen Anderson told the gathering that the show was one of New Zealand’s most loved and iconic series.
The actors and fans then broke into a Happy Birthday chorus for the show.
To many people’s relief, the glitzy event was far from a typical Shortland Street fictional party.
No murders, medical emergencies nor scandalous affairs were reported.
Shortland Street has beamed more than 5000 nail-biting episodes to New Zealand screens since 1992.
More than 750,000 people tuned in to Shortland Street’s 20th anniversary special on Monday night.