Bella Durville
| Bella Durville | |||||||||||||||||
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| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Amelia Reid-Meredith | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2010–16 | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 8 September 2010 | ||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 7 November 2016 | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Steven Zanoski | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Bella Cooper (maiden name) | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Personal Assistant at Shortland Street hospital (2011, 2014–2016) Receptionist at Shortland Street hospital (2010–14) |
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| Home | The Cooper House | ||||||||||||||||
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| Father | Murray Cooper |
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| Mother | Wendy Cooper |
| Brothers | Evan Cooper |
| Sisters | Jasmine Cooper |
| Husband | Luke Durville (2012–13) |
| Daughters | Stevie Isaac |
| Grandfathers | Alistair Len Cooper |
| Grandmothers | Judy Cooper |
Isabella Jane "Bella" Durville (née Cooper) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Amelia Reid-Meredith between her arrival in September 2010 and her departure in November 2016. She was the eldest sibling in the Cooper family unit.
In June 2010, Jacqueline Nairn joined the cast of Shortland Street as red headed nurse, Wendy Cooper. After several months on screen, it was announced that Wendy's family would be introduced throughout the remainder of the year. Nairn was excited by the prospect and stated, "The actors who are playing my children are awesome. We are having a lot of fun connecting and I think viewers are really going to enjoy learning about the Coopers over the next little while." Nairn was said to look forward as to how the Cooper's would "weave" into Ferndale and promised they would "rock the boat." Amelia Reid was a recent graduate from Toi Whakaari drama school, when she auditioned for the role of Penny Rourke on the soap, and though she missed out on the role, she was later hired to play the part of the eldest child in the Cooper family, Bella Cooper. Reid was delighted to win the role and stated, "I'm loving my time on Shortland Street so far. My first day on set was terrifying, exhilarating and wonderful all in one. I feel extremely blessed to be a full-time actor, being paid to play make believe." She compared her character to the iconic and long running former receptionists, Marj Brasch (Elizabeth McRae) and Waverley Harrison (Claire Chitham). After Reid-Meredith fell pregnant in late 2014, producers incorporated the pregnancy into the storyline. In mid 2016, Reid-Meredith decided to take "a break and pursue other projects and opportunities" and quit the show. Producer Maxine Fleming ensured the exit storyline would be "kept under wraps" but Reid-Meredith remained optimistic about a potential return to the show, "sometimes you just have to follow your heart and do what you feel is right at the time, and I definitely won't say I will never be back!" Bella departed in November 7 2016.
Bella arrived to the hospital when it was revealed she had been dropped from her prestigious beauty course for burning a man's face. She quickly gained the job of receptionist and developed an intense crush on Brodie Kemp (Ari Boyland). The two soon started to date and after initially clashing with co worker Yvonne Jeffries (Alison Quigan), she and Bella became good friends. Bella and Brodie broke up and she became briefly engaged to manipulative doctor Isaac Worthington (Matt Minto) before she and Brodie reunited. The couple planned to flee New Zealand to escape some criminals after Brodie but he left her behind and she turned her attentions to an unrequited crush on Daniel Potts (Ido Drent). However, as the year ended, Bella discovered she had fallen in love with Luke Durville (Gerald Urquhart) and narrowly survived a murder attempt by his ex-fiancėe's father, Costel (Phil Peloton). Bella and Luke got together and after she saved a young boys life, she briefly decided to become a doctor. The couple got engaged but Bella was devastated when Luke was diagnosed with a vicious brain tumour the night before the wedding. Nonetheless, the two got married.
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