Chris Warner
Affectionately referred to by fans and the media as "Dr. Love", Chris made his first appearance in the show's first episode by having an affair with his aerobics instructor. This was an infamous and controversial scene. Portrayed as spoiled and from a wealthy family that inherited the hospital that was founded by his father, the character of Chris was characterised by his patronising and illicit manner; contrasted in a 1994 storyline where he became addicted to morphine. Known primarily for romance storyliness, Chris has been married five times and participated in over 20 romances as well as fathering six children. Chris was the first member of the Warner family to join the show and he was joined by half brother Guy Warner (Craig Parker). In later years, Chris became the patriarch of a family unit made up of his sons Harry (Reid Walker) and Phoenix (Geordie Holibar). Chris has been involved in several high profile and highly rated storylines; including a 1994 car crash, nearly getting murdered by his brother in law Dominic Thompson (Shane Cortese), losing his wife to his drug-addicted brother Guy, and ending up in jail after being framed for murder.
List of original Shortland Street characters
By late 1995, Michael Galvin (Chris Warner) was struggling with the amount of time he was spending playing Chris and decided to quit the show. He stated, "after four years on Shortland Street there was so much of me in Dr Warner I wasn’t sure where he ended and I began." Galvin departed alongside his onscreen brother Craig Parker (Guy Warner) in an episode written by Steven Zanoski in May 1996. Originally, the characters' departure was going to lead to the series' ultimate ending. However, the continued success led to further commissions and the show survived. Elizabeth McRae (Marj Brasch) had also begun to worry that audiences would not be able to recognize her in any other roles and she wished for diversity. She quit the role in 1995 with many months of notice for producers to write her out. Producers decided to write her out in a storyline where she became a politician. They saw this as a fun and unusual write out for a deserving fan favourite character. Marj made her last appearance as a regular character on 1 July 1996. Rene Naufahu (Sam Aleni) struggled with the fame associated with the show and in 1996, quit his role. He requested Sam be killed off however this never came to fruition and Sam made his final appearance in August 1996.