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.
Guy Warner
Throughout his original stint, Guy was one of the most popular characters on the show. The character was described by a journalist as being "terminally nice". Producer Jason Daniel listed the return of Guy as one of his favourite storylines throughout his run on the soap. In the 2008 "Throng Shortland Street Fan Awards", Guy was listed as one of the characters fans would most like to return. Charlotte Cowan of Entertainment Fix praised Guy's return storyline and compared it favorably to the returns of Hone Ropata (Temuera Morrison) in 2008 and Justine Jones (Lucy Wigmore) in 2009. It was later named as the 4th best ever character return storyline in the soap by the "Shortland Street" website in 2013. Laura Hill (Toni Warner) enjoyed working alongside Parker and Olivia Tennet (Tuesday Warner) during 2007, noting the "lovely new energy" they brought to the Warner family unit. In 2012, the character was named as one of the standout characters of the show's first 20 years.