Donna Heka
| Donna Heka | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Shortland Street character | |||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Stephanie Tauevihi | ||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1997–2004 | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 1 October 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 25 December 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Simon Bennett (1997) Harriet Crampton (2004) |
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| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Donna Bennett (maiden name) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Medical assistant (1998–2004) Paramedic (until 1998) |
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| Father | Te Wero Whaia |
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| Mother | Mavis Bennett |
| Adoptive father | Joe Bennett |
| Half-brothers |
Matt Bennett Joshua Bennett |
| Husband |
Eddie Heka (until 1995) Rangi Heremaia (2000–01) |
| Stepsons | Toka Heremaia |
| Stepdaughters | Natasha Heremaia |
| Uncles | Willy Whaia |
| First cousins | Ramon Leilisi |
Donna Heka (née Bennett) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, who was portrayed by Stephanie Tauevihi from 1997 to mid-2004 and again for a two episode stint in December 2004.
Donna arrived in 1997 as a potential love interest for established character Rangi Heremaia (Blair Strang). What followed, became one of Shortland Street's most iconic storylines, with the happy couple discovering they were, in fact, related. The story arc carried on for 2 years when the two realised they were not related and married on the show's 2000th episode. Despite Rangi being killed off, Donna continued on the show and soon became one of the show's longest running characters. Storylines for Donna included being framed for murder, suffering a mental breakdown and kidnapping a baby, helping clear Victor (Calvin Tuteao) of murder and becoming Chris Warner's (Michael Galvin) mistress. The character departed in mid-2004 before returning in a two episode stint on Christmas the same year.
The character's romance with Rangi is remembered as hugely iconic as well as the characters long duration.
The character of Donna was created as a love interest for established character - Rangi Heremaia.Stephanie Tauevihi was cast in the role after at first worrying the producers with the lack of chemistry towards Rangi's actor, Blair Strang. Despite the fast turnaround of the show, Tauevihi enjoyed the experience of working in the soap. After 7 years Tauevihi started to feel she had lost herself in the role and decided to leave. The character was written off as departing to Australia, something which disappointed Tauevihi, who had wished Donna was going to be killed off. In 2010 Angela Bloomfield jokingly suggested that she would bring Tauevihi back if the producers could afford it.
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